ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Travel

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Attorney-General what the cost of travel by him was in the 11 months to 1 March 2013.

Oliver Heald: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) on 5 June 2013, Official Report, column 1134W.

EDUCATION

GCSE

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of children of a white ethnic background eligible for free school meals achieved 5 A*-C GCSE grades (a) nationally and (b) in Birmingham in 2013.

Elizabeth Truss: The requested information will be provided when the 2013 data is officially published in January 2014. The release date will be made known on the Department's website later in the year(1).
	(1)Note:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-education/about/statistics

School Milk

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will take steps to ensure that children with lactose and other allergies are catered for under the free school milk scheme.

Elizabeth Truss: The Department of Health operates the Nursery Milk Scheme, which provides free milk to children under the age of five at participating schools and child care settings. There is no equivalent scheme for school pupils over the age of five.

Schools: Sports

Karl Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment she has made of the findings of the Third Report from the Education Committee, school sport following London 2012, HC 164, and the effect of decisions in this area on the 14-25 programme.

Edward Timpson: We welcome the publication of the Select Committee's Report and the contribution that it has made to the debate on how to improve provision of PE and sport in schools.
	A cross-Government response to the findings of the report is currently being prepared and will be shared with the Committee shortly.

Schools: Swimming

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many schools in (a) England and (b) Hampshire are able to offer swimming lessons to pupils.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not hold data concerning the number of schools offering swimming lessons either nationally or in Hampshire.
	Under the national curriculum for physical education, it is a requirement that all primary school pupils should be taught to swim at least 25 metres unaided by the time they complete key stage 2.
	In March 2013 the Prime Minister announced additional ring-fenced funding of £150 million a year for academic years 2013/14 and 2014/15 to support provision of PE and sport in primary schools. This funding can be used to improve the provision of swimming.

Youth Clubs

Tristram Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which visits in an official capacity (a) he and (b) his Ministerial colleagues made to a youth club before the responsibility for youth services was transferred to the Cabinet Office.

Edward Timpson: It is not possible to supply a comprehensive list of visits made by the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), and his ministerial team to youth clubs and projects without incurring disproportionate cost. My previous response published in Hansard on 17 January 2013, Official Report, columns 903-4W, contains an incomplete list of visits made between May 2010 and October 2012 to youth projects. The response also explains that a complete list could not be ensured.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Billing

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for what proportion of prime contractors his Department paid their subcontractors within 30 days in each of the last 24 months.

Brandon Lewis: This information is not held centrally. However, where a contractor enters into a subcontract, for the purpose of performing its obligations under the contract, a term is included in such subcontract. The term requires payment to be made by the contractor to the subcontractor within a specified period not exceeding 30 days from receipt of a valid invoice as defined by the subcontract.

Council Housing

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many council houses have been purchased by residents in (a) Harlow constituency, (b) the East of England and (c) the UK since 2001.

Mark Prisk: Figures for Harlow constituency are not available. Figures are available at a local authority level and the relevant local authorities for the Harlow constituency are Harlow and Epping Forest. Between 2001-02 and 2012-13 there were 1,111 sales of local authority owned dwellings through the Right to Buy scheme in Harlow and 535 in Epping Forest. The annual figures for the two local authorities concerned show increases in sales since the change in Right to Buy discounts in April 2012. Harlow increased from 16 (in 2011-12) to 38 (in 2012-13) sales, while Epping Forest from 7 to 13 over the same period. These figures do not include other schemes such as Social Homebuy. Over the same time on the same basis 308,000 dwellings were sold in England. Figures on an annual basis are available at the following link. Figures for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are not comparable.
	Following the abolition of regional government by the coalition, DCLG no longer publishes statistics at a regional level and does not believe that regions provide a coherent or meaningful framework for assessing public policy. Instead, our published statistics relate, where relevant, to other sub-national geographies which are more aligned with public policy. However, we hold data from which the requested figures can be derived and these are available through the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/230904/LT685.xls

TRANSPORT

Channel Tunnel Railway Line

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many woodland sites were subject to land take or disruption during the construction of High Speed 1; how many hectares of woodland were translocated during the construction of High Speed 1; what steps he has taken to monitor the environmental quality of such translocated woodland sites; and if he will place copies of any written assessments he has made through such monitoring in the Library.

Simon Burns: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the energy capacity required to power (a) Phase 1 and (b) Phase 2 of High Speed 2 when it operates at full capacity.

Simon Burns: Peak power demand for the Phase One network at the maximum planned capacity (18 trains per hour per direction) is in the order of 350MW.
	HS2 Ltd is currently working on estimates of peak power demand for the Phase Two network and these will be available once the route of Phase Two has been developed further.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the carbon footprint of High Speed 2 (a) during the building phase and (b) when fully operational; and if he will place a copy of such estimates in the Library.

Simon Burns: HS2 Ltd is currently preparing information on the carbon footprint of HS2 Phase One during its construction and operation phases. This will be published in the Environmental Statement which will be deposited in Parliament alongside the hybrid Bill later this year.

High Speed Trains: Noise

Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the peak decibel level of noise generated by a high speed train travelling over a 30 feet high viaduct in open countryside at a distance of (a) half a mile, (b) one mile and (c) 1.5 miles.

Simon Burns: A full and detailed assessment of the impacts and likely significant noise effects due to the operation of HS2 Phase One, including all viaducts, is being completed and will be reported in the Environmental Statement that will accompany the Bill when it is deposited with Parliament towards the end of this year. As a minimum all viaducts will include barriers installed close to the track with a height of 1.4m above rail.

Ipswich

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons he visited Ipswich on 20 August 2013; whether this visit was in an official capacity; who invited him; and which hon. Members were present.

Patrick McLoughlin: I visited Ipswich in an official capacity. Following the spending round, this engagement formed part of a wider programme of visits in East Anglia to reinforce the Government's commitment to invest in transport to secure future growth.
	I have received representations from hon. Members from across the region requesting a meeting to put the case for strategic investment in the East Anglia rail network, led by my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Miss Smith).
	In Ipswich I met with my hon. Friend the Member for Ipswich (Ben Gummer), my hon. Friend the Member for Norwich North (Miss Smith) and my hon. Friend the Member for Witham (Priti Patel).

M11

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons on 29 August 2013 there were 50 mph speed limits southbound on the M11 south of the crash north and south of Stansted Airport; for what distance such restrictions were in place; for how long such restrictions were in place; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Hammond: Temporary advisory 50 mph speed limits and uneven road surface warning signs were erected on a 5.5 mile section of the north and southbound carriageways of the M11 between Junction 8 (Stansted) and Junction 7 (Harlow) on 10 May 2013. The surface of the motorway at this location is below current standards, although it remains in a safe condition.
	There is an ongoing drainage issue here with water being trapped under the carriageway which has hastened the deterioration of the road surface. The Highways Agency plan to deal with the drainage issue, and to resurface this section of road in the next financial year depending on the availability of funding and other priorities on the network.

Pedestrian Crossings

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on the installation of new pelican crossings; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Baker: The decision on what type of pedestrian crossing to provide is for local traffic authorities. The Department has published guidance on all types of pedestrian crossings:
	Local Transport Note 1/95: The Assessment of Pedestrian Crossings
	Local Transport Note 2/95: The Design of Pedestrian Crossings
	The Puffin Good Practice Guide
	all of which are available to download from:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/managing-improving-and-investing-in-the-road-network/supporting-pages/traffic-signs

Pedestrian Crossings

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the research by TRL Limited on relative accident levels on puffin crossings and pelican crossings.

Norman Baker: The research by TRL Limited was commissioned by the Department for Transport. The report was published in January 2011 and is available to download from the TRL website at:
	http://www.trl.co.uk/online_store/reports_publications/trl_reports/cat_traffic_engineering/report_puffin_pedestrian_crossing_accident_study.htm
	The report concluded that converting pelican to puffin crossings could result in a reduction in accidents.
	It is for local authorities to take this, and any other relevant information, into account when deciding what type of crossing to provide at any particular location.

Public Bodies

Jim Fitzpatrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his Department has made an assessment of the desirability of bringing together the Driving Standards Agency, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency and the Vehicle and Operator Service Agency into one single Government-supported agency.

Stephen Hammond: The consultation on the Motoring Services Strategy ran from 13 December 2012 to 7 March 2013. It asked for views on the proposal to rationalise the number of agencies delivering motoring services. There was broad support for this principle, though there was little agreement on the best way forward. A summary of the responses to the consultation was published on the Department's website on 20 June 2013.
	On 20 June 2013 I also announced that the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) and the Driving Standards Agency (DSA) would merge. This announcement followed a review of the benefits of bringing together two agencies which shared many operational and functional similarities in the way that they delivered motoring services. The single agency will deliver the same high quality services, but with greater efficiency. It will be easier for customers to navigate the services offered, and will reduce the administrative burden of customers currently using both VOSA and DSA.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) shared fewer common operational activities with VOSA and DSA. Therefore the conclusion was that VOSA and DSA services should be rationalised into a single agency, and that DVLA should focus on a clear strategy as a digital services agency.

Public Transport

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to Department for Transport Statistics: Table NTS9904—Average distance travelled by mode, region and area type: Great Britain, 2011-12, what estimate he has made of the number of miles per person per year in Scotland for each of the means of transport under the heading of other public transport.

Stephen Hammond: The following table shows the estimate of the number of miles per person per year by residents of Scotland for the modes included in the category of “other public transport”.
	
		
			 Average distance travelled by other public modes: Scotland, 2011-12(1) 
			  Miles per person per year Unweighted sample size (trip stages) 
			 Non-local bus * 55 
			 London Underground * 121 
			 Surface rail 455 1,031 
			 Taxi/minicab 65 921 
			 Other public transport(2) * 163 
			 All other public transport 1,055 2,291 
			 (1) Two survey years combined, eg 2011 and 2012. (2) Other public includes air, ferries, light rail (including Glasgow subway). Source: National Travel Survey 
		
	
	The sample size is too small to produce reliable results for non-local bus, London Underground and “Other public transport”. These results have therefore been omitted.

Railways: East of England

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will estimate the cost to the public purse of implementing the East of England Rail Manifesto submitted to him by the hon. and Right hon. Members representing constituencies in the East of England.

Patrick McLoughlin: Network Rail will shortly be undertaking a number of route studies as part of its long-term planning process to inform the next industry plan, to be published in 2016. These studies will include an estimate of the cost of implementing any schemes in the East of England, which could include those proposed in the East of England manifesto.

West Anglia Railway Line

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of (a) journey times and (b) reliability of rail services on the West Anglia line between London and Stansted Airport.

Norman Baker: Although performance across the Greater Anglia network is monitored, no specific assessment has been made of the reliability of journey times on the West Anglia line between London and Stansted Airport. I regularly meet with rail industry representatives to discuss performance.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Atos Healthcare

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many assessment centres Atos Healthcare (a) provided and (b) have been contracted to provide in each region under its personal independence payment contract.

Esther McVey: As part of the specification for personal independence payment (PIP) assessments, the two providers—Atos and Capita—must provide sufficient suitable accommodation for face-to-face consultations. Atos' delivery model utilises the premises of local supply chain partners already established in the health care sector and as such have access to large flexible network of sites—locations such as private medical centres, physiotherapy practices and hospitals. Atos have published details of 171 consultation centres on their website. The number of sites utilised by Atos for PIP consultations will fluctuate in line with the demand for assessments. Using the Department's forecast volumes of PIP assessments, Atos have demonstrated through their supply chain contractual arrangements that they have full geographic coverage with an additional capacity of at least 15% in each of their supply chain partners, as well as back up options across their network, should volumes prove higher than expected.

Atos Healthcare

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how regularly he meets with (a) executives and (b) assessors of Atos Healthcare to discuss disability assessments.

Esther McVey: Officials from the Department for Work and Pensions meet frequently with Atos representatives to discuss the assessments they undertake on behalf of the Department.

Credit: Interest Rates

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of people with disabilities that have requested a payday loan in each of the last 60 months.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available.

Food Banks

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether he has been invited to meet representatives of the Trussell Trust to discuss food insecurity;
	(2)  when he will next meet with the Trussell Trust to discuss food insecurity.

Mark Hoban: An invitation to meet representatives of the Trussell Trust was received. There are currently no plans to meet with the Trussell Trust. Food banks are not Government responsibility and, therefore, it is not considered necessary to have a meeting.

Housing Benefit: Social Rented Housing

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of armed forces veterans affected by the spare-room subsidy in (a) Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency, (b) Renfrewshire, (c) Scotland and (d) the UK.

Steve Webb: The information requested is not available.

Jobcentre Plus

Susan Elan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in what way Jobcentre Plus is contributing to the Military Covenant; and if he will make a statement.

Steve Webb: DWP officials play an active part in the Armed Forces Covenant Reference Group. DWP has a nominated armed forces advocate who is responsible for ensuring that the needs of service personnel, their families and veterans are properly catered for by the Department.
	Every Jobcentre district has an “armed forces champion”, who work with the Ministry for Defence Career Transition Partnership, and link with providers and charities giving specialist support, such as the Royal British Legion.
	DWP has ensured that war disablement pensions and guaranteed income payments made under the armed forces compensation scheme will be fully disregarded in calculating an award of universal credit. Working with the Ministry of Defence we have introduced the armed forces independence payment to provide financial support to service personnel and veterans seriously injured as a result of service. Finally, we have ensured that ex-service personnel can have early access to the work programme.

Jobseeker’s Allowance

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many visually impaired people in (a) Hendon constituency, (b) Greater London and (c) England and Wales are in receipt of jobseekers allowance.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Occupational Health

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department plans to spend on the proposed Health and Work Assessment Advisory Service in each of the next three years.

Esther McVey: The Government response estimated that the health and work assessment and advisory service will cost between £25 million and £50 million per annum. The service will be funded through the abolition of the percentage threshold scheme. We are unable to share further details of spending on the service in advance of a commercial tendering exercise.

Occupational Health

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he plans to proceed with tendering for the Health and Work Assessment Advisory Service.

Esther McVey: The health and work assessment and advisory service will be introduced by the end of 2014. A tendering exercise will take place in due course that will enable this delivery date.

Occupational Pensions

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of public awareness of alternative automatic enrolment pension options instead of NEST.

Steve Webb: It is for employers to choose the qualifying pension scheme which best suits the needs of their workforce. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is carrying out qualitative research with employers that will explore their pension scheme choices for automatic enrolment. Findings will be published this autumn. DWP is also conducting its biennial survey of employer pension provision which monitors trends in provision and provides evidence on employers' plans and responses to automatic enrolment. Findings from this survey will be published in 2014.
	The Pensions Regulator's “finding a provider” page on their website reminds employers that NEST is one qualifying scheme that they can choose to use and that the scheme has a public service objective to accept any employer who wishes to use it. It also signposts employers to the Association of British Insurers' list of ABI members providing qualifying automatic enrolment schemes and the NAPF's information about pension service providers.

Social Security Benefits

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the effects of the benefit cap on (a) single-parent and (b) two-parent households.

Mark Hoban: The benefit cap started phased implementation in April this year and is due to complete national implementation by the end of September when all appropriate households will be capped. Statistics of those who have been capped in the first four local authorities as of end June 2013, by household type, are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-work-pensions/series/benefit-cap-statistics

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the rates are of (a) mortality and (b) contraction of serious illnesses among persons assessed for eligibility for employment and support allowance and disability living allowance between their medical assessment and the decision of their case in each of the last four years.

Mark Hoban: The information requested is not available

Training: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under what circumstances a young person engaged on a traineeship is (a) permitted to claim and (b) precluded from claiming jobseeker's allowance; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Hoban: There is scope for providers to design a programme that meets the core aims and elements of traineeships but also fits with benefit rules. This would enable young people in receipt of jobseeker's allowance (or the new universal credit) to continue to receive financial support while taking part in a traineeship. To enable this, colleges and providers are encouraged to work with Jobcentre Plus when designing their programmes.
	Claimants will continue to be paid jobseeker's allowance/universal credit at their benefit rate, and to maintain benefit entitlement will be subject to all existing conditionality such as actively seeking and available for employment. They will also continue to attend regular face-to-face Jobcentre Plus adviser interviews for the duration of their traineeship.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on what dates meetings of the (a) Universal Credit Programme Board and (b) Universal Credit Service Design Steering group have been held.

Mark Hoban: The information is as follows.
	(a) Universal Credit Programme Board meetings have been held on:
	2 September 2011
	17 October 2011
	7 November 2011
	16 November 2011
	5 December 2011
	16 January 2012
	13 February 2012
	12 March 2012
	22 March 2012
	16 April 2012
	14 May 2012
	11 June 2012
	18 June 2012
	9 July 2012
	26 July 2012
	29 August 2012
	3 September 2012
	1 October 2012
	26 October 2012
	15 November 2012
	26 November 2012
	10 December 2012
	14 January 2013
	11 February 2013
	4 June 2013
	3 July 20 13
	1 August 2013
	4 September 2013
	(b) Universal Credit Design Steering Group meetings have been held on:
	30 August 2011
	27 September 2011
	24 October 2011
	22 November 2011
	12 December 2011
	30 January 2012
	27 February 2012
	27 March 2012
	1 May 2012
	29 May 2012
	26 June 2012
	26 July 2012
	21 August 2012
	18 September 2012
	16 October 2012
	12 November 2012

Vacancies: Thirsk

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many job vacancies there are in Thirsk and Malton constituency.

Mark Hoban: Headline figures on the number of unfilled vacancies at a point in time are published by the Office for National Statistics, based on a regular survey of employers. The sample size of the survey is, however, too small to allow information to be published below national level.
	Administrative data on the number of unfilled vacancies held locally by Jobcentre Plus were published until the end of last year and can be accessed by following this link
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk/query/construct/summary.asp?mode=construct&version=0&dataset=89
	and selecting the 'live unfilled' vacancies variable and the relevant geography and time period.
	Any snapshot of unfilled Jobcentre vacancies at a point in time misses the regular turnover of new vacancies that are notified as existing opportunities are filled. It also misses jobs available in the wider labour market, including those outside the local constituency, and those coming up through other recruitment channels or filled by direct approaches to employers or word of mouth.
	Universal Jobmatch has replaced the previous Jobcentre Plus system of taking vacancies. Information on vacancies reported through the new service is not currently available for parliamentary constituencies. Some information, including notified vacancies at local authority level, is available from the Universal Jobmatch management information tool
	https://jobsearch.direct.gov.uk/Reports/Reports.aspx
	and selecting number of new jobs and the relevant geography and time period. DWP is working with Monster Worldwide Limited, the Universal Jobmatch supplier, on a timetable for prioritising and implementing improvements to the available Ml, including breakdowns by parliamentary constituency, subject to funding.

Work Programme: Birmingham

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Birmingham, Hall Green constituency have found employment lasting more than six months through the Work Programme since its inception; how many such people were aged under 24 years old; and how many such people had a disability.

Mark Hoban: Work programme statistical information is available for the period 1 June 2011 to 31 March 2013. In the Birmingham, Hall Green constituency in that period 410 people found work lasting for more than six months; 140 of these were aged 18 to 24 and 40 were registered disabled.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Afghanistan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many Afghan women's organisations working on violence against women have been consulted in the development of the strategic priority on tackling violence against women in her Department's next Operational Plan for Afghanistan.

Justine Greening: DFID maintains regular contact with women's organisations in Afghanistan, most recently with representatives of the Afghan Women's Skills Development Centre (AWSDC) and Kabul University's Empowerment Centre for Women.
	DFID has also held formal consultations on tackling violence against women with members of the British and Irish Agencies Afghanistan Group (BAAG), an umbrella group for Afghan and international aid agencies working in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has to support essential emergency protection services for victims of violence against women in Afghanistan.

Justine Greening: Violence against women and girls is now a strategic priority for DFID's programme in Afghanistan. Our approach is to focus on prevention, including supporting the legal framework and enforcement measures that safeguards women from violence. However, the UK also recognises the important role of protection services and supports our partners in funding national shelter programmes.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether her Department considered any independent or external consultancy views on the viability and future of the Bost Agri Park, Afghanistan; and if she will place any such report in the Library.

Justine Greening: I refer to my previous answer to the hon. Member on 14 February 2013, Official Report, column 823W.

Afghanistan

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions her Department had with counterparts at USAID on the viability and potential problems in relation to the Bost Agri Park, Afghanistan before her Department took over the initiative; and if she will place the minutes of any such discussions in the Library.

Justine Greening: As part of the international effort in Helmand, DFID has worked closely with USAID on a range of development projects, including the Bost Agricultural Business Park. The Department does not publish internal records of such discussions.

Afghanistan

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment she has made of the effect on the education of girls in Afghanistan of the decision by US Aid not to fund Aid Afghanistan for Education; whether she has considered funding such activity; and what communications her Department has received from the Afghanistan Technical Vocational Institute in respect of the funding for girls' education in Afghanistan.

Justine Greening: DFID currently supports the Afghanistan Technical Vocational Institute's (ATVI) youth vocation training programme in Helmand and DFID maintains regular communication with this organisation. Any new funding decisions will be announced in due course.

Developing Countries: Asylum

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2013, Official Report, column 280W, on Syria, what assessment she has made of the ability of UNRWA to provide for young disabled refugees. [Official Report, 8 October 2013, Vol. 568, c. 2MC.]

Justine Greening: The UK is funding the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) to support vulnerable people in Palestine, including disabled people affected by the crisis in Syria. This crisis in Syria has placed a huge strain on an already overstretched UNRWA. They are operating in extremely difficult and dangerous conditions and the security situation remains unstable.

HEALTH

Atrial Fibrillation

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when the most recent data from the Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme regarding the number of patients admitted to hospital with a stroke who have a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation and are anticoagulated will be published.

Anna Soubry: The Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) is delivered by the Royal College of Physician's (RCP) Stroke Programme.
	According to the RCP website, the first public report for the clinical component of SSNAP is anticipated in early 2014 subject to recruitment and case ascertainment.

Cancer

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to improve the provision of gallium PET scans for the treatment of neuroendocrine tumours.

Anna Soubry: Responsibility for determining the overall national approach to improving clinical outcomes from health care services lies with NHS England.
	NHS England has advised that University College London Hospital is currently the only centre in the United Kingdom manufacturing 68Ga (gallium) Somatostatin-peptides used in PET scanning, NHS England is aware that there are supply and demand and commercial issues which need to be resolved before it becomes more widely available.
	The British Nuclear Medicine Society, the BNMS Molecular Radiotherapy Group, UKINETS (UK and Ireland Neuroendocrine Tumour Society) and the NET Patient Foundation sent a position paper to the then National Clinical Director for Cancer and End of Life Care setting out issues surrounding the availability of Dotatate Radionuclides in the UK, which included the use of Dotatate as an imaging agent with gallium. This information is now with NHS England and the current National Clinical Director for diagnostics.

Carbon Emissions

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the future cost to his Department of complying with carbon emission regulations.

Daniel Poulter: The Department estimates its future costs of carbon programme compliance using historical CO2 output and offsetting cost data. In financial year 2011-12 the Department spent £82,704 offsetting energy related CO2, this reduced to £81,660 in 2012-13. We would expect these costs to continue decreasing in future years in line with the Departments focus on energy efficiency.
	The Department has five core properties whose electricity and gas consumption is offset through the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency scheme. Last year the Department emitted 6,805 tonnes of CO2 related to electricity and gas use, and paid £81,660 in offsetting costs under the CRC scheme.
	The Department also participates in the Department for Energy and Climate Change administered Government Carbon Offsetting Framework (GCOF) scheme, which offsets carbon emissions related to Departmental staff business travel. Last year the Department emitted 1,328 tonnes of CO2 related to business travel and paid £903.04 in offsetting costs under the GCOF scheme.

Cardiovascular System: Greater London

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) myocardial infarction and (b) suspected myocardial infarction emergency (i) attendances and (ii) admittances there were in each of the last three years at (A) The Royal Free Hospital, (B) Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital, (C) Whittington Hospital, (D) The Royal London (Barts) Hospital and (E) North Middlesex and University College Hospital London.

Anna Soubry: The information is not available in the format requested.
	The following table provides data on the count of finished episodes with a primary diagnosis of myocardial infarction by the requested hospital providers for emergency via accident and emergency (A and E), and for emergency via all emergency admissions for 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12.
	It is not possible to separately identify myocardial infarction diagnosis as the A and E datasets use broad classifications. In addition, it is not possible to identify suspected myocardial infarction but, only those records where diagnosis has been recorded.
	
		
			 Count of finished admission episodes(1) with a primary diagnosis(2) of myocardial infarction by selected providers(3) for emergency admissions via A&E and all emergency admissions(4) for 2009-10 to 2011-12 
			 Activity in English NHS hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Provider name Emergency admissions via A&E All emergency admissions Emergency admissions via A&E All emergency admissions Emergency admissions via A&E All emergency admissions 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 404 426 341 375 319 355 
			 Barts and The London NHS Trust 110 527 123 649 146 1,077 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 218 228 161 168 250 257 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 126 232 194 339 175 383 
			 The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 93 99 109 112 107 110 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 75 216 95 243 109 215 
			 (1 )Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. (2 )Primary diagnosis The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the hospital episode statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital. ICD-10 Codes used: 121—Acute myocardial infarction 122—Subsequent myocardial infarction (3 )Hospital Provider A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (eg NHS Trust or PCT). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of dataflows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures. (4 )Method of Admission The recorded method of admission to hospital and whether the admission was elective, emergency or maternity related. In this case the following code groups were used. Emergency Admissions via A&E 21—Emergency: via Accident and Emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider All Emergency Admissions 21—Emergency: via Accident and Emergency (A&E) services, including the casualty department of the provider 22—Emergency: via general practitioner (GP) 23—Emergency: via Bed Bureau, including the Central Bureau 24—Emergency: via consultant outpatient clinic 28—Emergency: other means, including patients who arrive via the A&E department of another healthcare provider Note: Assessing growth through time (inpatients) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity, (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Genetically Modified Organisms: Animal Feed

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the extension of the length of animal feeding studies designed to establish genetically-modified organism toxicity or safety.

Anna Soubry: The data required to establish the safety of genetically modified organisms are set out in “European Union regulation 503/2013”, which came into force in May 2013. The length of animal feeding studies required is 90 days, which is consistent with previous guidance from the European Food Safety Authority. There are currently no scientific grounds for increasing the length of such studies.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Food

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect on human health of the consumption of meat raised on genetically-modified animal feed.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency advise that all genetically modified (GM) food and animal feed materials to be marketed in the European Union are subject to a mandatory pre-market safety assessment under the EU regulation on GM food and feed before they can be permitted to enter the food chain. This safety assessment is carried out on a case by case basis and is the responsibility of the European Food Safety Authority.
	The safety evaluation of GM food and feed is based on rigorous scrutiny of scientific data and complies with internationally agreed guidelines. No GM food or feed would be authorised if after it was evaluated it was considered unsafe. Given these safety evaluations we are satisfied that products from animals fed GM animal feed are as safe as products from animals fed non-GM feed and pose no additional risk to the consumer.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Food

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his policy is on the introduction of a labelling scheme for meat and dairy products from animals raised on genetically-modified animal feed.

Anna Soubry: There are currently no plans to alter the statutory genetic modified (GM) labelling requirements as set out in the ‘GM food and feed regulation (EC) No 1829/2003’. However, the Commission is currently considering whether to harmonise national voluntary ‘GM-Free’ schemes that exist in several European Union member states.

Hospitals: Worcestershire

Karen Lumley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the future of acute hospital services in Worcestershire on health services in Worcestershire.

Anna Soubry: The configuration of local health services is a matter for the local national health service. Commissioners in Worcestershire are working with local providers and stakeholders to develop proposals for the future provision of acute services across the county, which will be subject to public consultation later this year.

Injuries: Offensive Weapons

Brian Binley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS hospital bed days were taken up by patients being treated for an injury caused by assault by a sharp object in each of the last six years.

Anna Soubry: The number of bed days for finished consultant episodes with a cause code of assault by sharp object between 2006-07 and 2011-12 is shown in the table. We have also supplied the number of day case episodes with a cause code of assault by sharp object as these are not included in the calculation of bed days. This data is available as part of the Health and Social Care Information Centre's admitted patient care annual publications.
	It should be noted that the vast majority of people who attend hospital due to assault by a sharp object (including knives), are treated without being admitted to hospital—there is no accurate data on the number of people who attend hospital for treatment for this type of assault, but are not admitted.
	
		
			 Count of bed days(1) for finished consultant episodes(2) (FCEs) and total day case episodes(3) with a cause code of assault by sharp object(4) for 2006-07 to 2011-12(5) 
			  Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector 
			  Day cases FCE bed days 
			 2006-07 53 12,098 
			 2007-08 80 9,901 
			 2008-09 103 9,229 
			 2009-10 99 8,741 
			 2010-11 125 9,169 
			 2011-12 127 7,792 
			 (1) FCE bed days: This is the sum of the episode duration for all episodes that ended within the financial year. This field does not include bed days where the episode was unfinished at the end of the financial year. This field is different to the ‘Bed days’ field used in publications prior to 2008-09 which included an estimation of bed days from unfinished episodes. (2) Finished Consultant Episode (FCE): A finished consultant episode (FCE) is a continuous period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FCEs are counted against the year in which they end. Figures do not represent the number of different patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the same stay in hospital or in different stays in the same year. (3) Day case episodes The count of FCEs relating to day cases. Day cases are in-patients who have been admitted for treatment just for the day. They are therefore always single episode spells with a duration of zero days. The intention is for treatment to be concluded in one day. If, unexpectedly, the patient is kept overnight, it must be re-classed as an ordinary admission. (4) Cause code A supplementary code that indicates the nature of any external cause of injury, poisoning or other adverse effects. Only the first external cause code which is coded within the episode is counted in Hospital Episode Statistics. X99: Assault by sharp object (5) Assessing growth through time (In-patients): HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care

Meningitis: Vaccination

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when the next meeting of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation subgroup on meningococcal infection is scheduled for; and for what reasons this group is not currently planning to meet face to face after the close of the consultation on the meningitis B vaccine;
	(2)  whether the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's Code of Practice published on 24 July 2013 was subject to consultation;
	(3)  whether the paper from the Uncertainty in Vaccine Evaluation and Procurement Working Group was applied to the Cost effectiveness analysis that underpinned the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's interim position statement on the use of a meningitis B vaccine;
	(4)  whether the paper from the Uncertainty in Vaccine Evaluation and Procurement Working Group was subject to consultation;
	(5)  if he will publish a list of all organisations, institutions and individuals who submitted a response to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's October 2010 call for evidence on meningococcal disease;
	(6)  who requested the updated study on meningococcal vaccines referred to on page 22 of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's minutes from 12 June 2013; and on what basis that request was made.

Anna Soubry: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) meningococcal sub-committee is planning to convene on the 20 September 2013 via teleconference. This is in order to convene the sub-committee quickly, to maximise the availability of sub-committee members to participate and to facilitate discussion of the responses to the stakeholder consultation on the JCVI interim position statement on the use of Bexsero® meningococcal B vaccine in the United Kingdom by the members.
	The revised Code of Practice of the JCVI was considered and agreed by the Committee and UK health departments before publication. Both the revised and original Code of Practice were not subject to public consultation.
	The approach described in the report by the Working Group on Uncertainty in Vaccine Evaluation and Procurement was applied to the considerations by the JCVI and its meningococcal sub-committee about the cost effectiveness of meningococcal B immunisation programmes.
	The report by the Working Group on Uncertainty in Vaccine Evaluation and Procurement was considered by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation and by the Department. The report was not subject to consultation.
	Those that made submissions in response to the JCVI call for evidence issued in October 2010 were: Novartis, Pfizer, the Meningitis Trust, the Meningitis Research Foundation and Meningitis UK.
	The study on meningococcal vaccines referred to on page 22 of the JCVI's minutes from 12 June 2013 was updated at the request of the JCVI meningococcal sub-committee to support its consideration of the impact and cost effectiveness of routine meningococcal B immunisations programmes. It was updated to take into account: the considerations of the sub-committee about inputs to, assumptions made, and sensitivity analyses in, the study based on the sub-committee's review of the evidence; to examine different immunisation strategies; to include costs for vaccine administration provided by the Department; and to support the assessment of the results of the study in line with the report by the Working Group on Uncertainty in Vaccine Evaluation and Procurement.

Meningitis: Vaccination

Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the Government's aim to reduce children's deaths through public health measures, as outlined in its pledge, Better health outcomes for children and young people, published in February 2013, what assessment he has made of the recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on meningococcal B immunisation.

Anna Soubry: The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has not yet finalised and submitted its position statement on meningococcal B vaccine to the Department. Therefore, we have not yet made any such assessments.

Mental Health Services

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to increase the number of mental health specialists in the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: The Government has established Health Education England (HEE) to ensure that the national health service has the right number of staff, with the right skills and behaviours to deliver high quality patient care.
	Through its Mandate, the Government has asked HEE to ensure the NHS has sufficient numbers of staff across the mental health work force. Working with NHS providers HEE will work to ensure there are sufficient numbers of psychiatrists, other clinicians and care staff with the right skills and values trained to meet mental health service needs.
	Mental health is a matter for all health professionals and, in addition to ensuring more staff are trained, HEE will also develop training programmes that will enable employers to ensure that staff have an awareness of mental health problems and how they may affect their patients.

NHS 111

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to (a) the NHS and (b) NHS Direct of the operation to date of the 111 telephone service; what estimate he has made of the cost (i) to the NHS and (ii) to NHS Direct of the closure of those contracts held by NHS Direct for that service; and what proportion of the overall costs of those contracts will be met by the NHS.

Anna Soubry: Information on the cost of running NHS 111 in England is not held centrally by either NHS England or the Department. NHS 111 is a locally commissioned service and the cost of running it during 2013-14 will depend on a number of factors such as call volume and roll-out dates in different parts of the country. Costs are reimbursed to providers on a price per call basis, so the final costs will depend on the number of calls received over the course of 2013-14.
	With regard to the decision to reprocure NHS 111 services in those areas currently contracted to NHS Direct, NHS Direct have forecast a deficit in the region of £26.2 million for the total running costs of NHS 111 contracts for the year 2013-14, and this figure has been agreed by the NHS Trust Development Authority and NHS England. This is a forecast predicated on a number of conditions and so the final figure may vary but should not exceed £26.2 million. The final figure is dependent on call volumes and how quickly NHS England and local commissioners are able to find alternative providers.
	The full and final cost of the loss of 111 contracts to NHS Direct is yet to be determined as the trust is working with prospective hosts, NHS England and the NHS Trust Development Authority to minimise the impact of this.

NHS: Anniversaries

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what activity his Department organised to mark the 65th anniversary of the NHS;
	(2)  if any Ministers in his Department attended an event to mark the 65th anniversary of the NHS.

Daniel Poulter: To mark the 65th Birthday on 5 July of the national health service in England, the Department organised an event at the Evelina Children's Hospital (part of Guys and St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust) at which the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), and the Minister of State, the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), marked the NHS achievements during its first 65 years and set out proposals to improve care for vulnerable older people and to create a more personalised health service. The Prime Minister also attended.
	In addition, the Department organised a series of visits by Ministers to NHS services, to mark the birthday:
	4 July 2013
	Minister of State (Norman Lamb) Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust
	Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Dr Daniel Poulter) Southend University Hospital
	Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Earl Howe) Copes Pharmacy Streatham, London
	5 July 2013
	Secretary of State for Health (Jeremy Hunt) The Earls Court Health and Well-being Centre

NHS: Negligence

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of the money set aside by the NHS to compensate patients for clinical negligence claims will be paid to lawyers representing patients. [Official Report, 8 October 2013, Vol. 568, c. 2-4MC.]

Daniel Poulter: As at 31 March 2013 the National Health Service Litigation Authority has made provision for claimant solicitors' costs of £1.22 billion. This is against a total provision of £5.8 billion relating to all reported but unresolved clinical negligence claims, equating to a proportion of about 21% of the provision.
	It should be emphasised that these sums do not represent a single year's costs, but a provision in the account for costs that may be paid out spread over a number of subsequent years.

Ovarian Cancer

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what arrangements he plans to put in place to ensure that ovarian cancer patients currently receiving treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund will continue to be able to access treatment from 2014;
	(2)  what arrangements he plans to put in place to ensure that new ovarian cancer patients who could benefit from treatments currently available on the Cancer Drugs Fund will be able to access appropriate treatments from 2014.

Norman Lamb: We will ensure arrangements are in place to protect individual patients receiving treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund, including those with ovarian cancer, as the planned end of the fund approaches.
	We are exploring ways in which new patients can continue to benefit from innovative cancer drugs at a cost that represents value to the national health service.

Ovarian Cancer

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether ovarian cancer drugs previously appraised but not recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence will be re-assessed under value-based pricing.

Norman Lamb: Value-based pricing will focus primarily on new medicines. It is possible that a. small number of existing drugs, such as some cancer drugs previously considered but not recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), could be assessed under value-based pricing. However, it is not our intention under value-based pricing to routinely reassess treatments already appraised by NICE.

Paediatrics: Greater London

Nick de Bois: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many paediatric emergency (a) attendances and (b) admissions there were in each of the last three years at (i) The Royal Free Hospital, (ii) Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital, (iii) Whittington Hospital, (iv) The Royal London (Barts) Hospital, (v) North Middlesex Hospital and (vi) University College Hospital London.

Anna Soubry: The number of accident and emergency (A and E) attendances by provider and for years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 where the patient age on attendance was 17 or under is shown in Table 1.
	The number of emergency admission episodes by provider and for years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 where the patient age on admission was 17 and under is shown in Table 2.
	The number of attendances/admissions does not represent the number of patients, as an individual may attend A and E and/or be admitted to hospital on more than one occasion in any given time period.
	Activity in English NHS Hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector
	
		
			 Table l: Accident and emergency attendances(1) by provider(2) and year where the patient age on arrival was 17 or under 
			 Provider name 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 38,854 38,545 38,011 
			 Baits and the London NHS Trust 33,233 33,298 33,258 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 31,000 38,136 38,185 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 17,818 18,306 18,826 
			 The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 18,902 19,499 19,939 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 14,739 14,920 15,455 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Emergency Admissions(3, 4) by provider(2) and year where the patient age was 17 or under 
			 Provider name 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 
			 Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust 8,365 7,458 6,033 
			 Barts and the London NHS Trust 6,319 6,138 6,214 
			 North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust 2,708 2,460 2,828 
			 Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust 2,505 2,222 2,171 
			 The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust 2,596 2,787 2,708 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 2,398 2,416 2,373 
			 (1 )A&E Attendances A&E Attendances in HES, relate to the number of recorded attendances. A&E attendances do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. Both planned and unplanned attendances are included. (2 )Hospital Provider A provider code is a unique code that identifies an organisation acting as a health care provider (eg NHS Trust or PCT). Data from some independent sector providers, where the onus for arrangement of dataflows is on the commissioner, may be missing. Care must be taken when using this data as the counts may be lower than true figures. (3 )Finished admission episodes A finished admission episode (FAE) is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one health care provider. FAEs are counted against the year or month in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period. (4 )Emergency Admission An emergency admission is a FAE where the patient is admitted as an emergency either via the local A&E, A&E at another hospital or directly from some other source i.e. GP, local authority. Emergency admissions do not include normal maternity events which, although unplanned are not classified as an emergency. Notes: 1. Assessing growth through time (in-patients) HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements in data quality and coverage (particularly in earlier years), improvements in coverage of independent sector activity (particularly from 2006-07) and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. 2. Assessing growth through time (accident & emergency) HES figures are available from 2007-08 onwards. Changes to the figures over time need to be interpreted in the context of improvements. In data quality and coverage and changes in NHS practice. For example, changes in activity may be due to changes in the provision of care. Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Health and Social Care Information Centre

Poultry Meat: Food Poisoning

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of retailed chickens tested positive for (a) campylobacter and (b) salmonella in the most recent survey of chicken on retail sale by the Food Standards Agency.

Anna Soubry: The Food Standards Agency published the report of a United Kingdom survey of Campylobacter and Salmonella contamination of fresh chicken at retail (B18025) in October 2009.
	The prevalence of Campylobacterin chicken at retail in the UK was 65.2% and Salmonella prevalence in chicken at retail remained low at 6.6%.

School Milk

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what assessment he has made of the effect of access to the Nursery Milk Scheme on children's health outcomes;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of childcare settings' packaging preferences for milk delivered through the Nursery Milk Scheme;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the effect of the Nursery Milk Scheme on local businesses.

Daniel Poulter: The Department of Health has not made a specific assessment of the effect of access to the Nursery Milk Scheme on children's health outcomes. However, the proposed changes to the Nursery Milk Scheme have been designed to ensure that the benefits of the Nursery Milk Scheme continue to apply equally to al! eligible under children—on a universal basis. In parallel with the public consultation, we also asked all child care providers currently registered with the scheme to complete a simple survey about how the scheme works for them now, and how potential changes might affect them and the children they care for. The questions asked included those on packaging preferences.
	We have conducted an in-depth analysis of all the responses to the Nursery Milk consultation and the accompanying survey; to ensure that the most suitable way forward for the Scheme does not disadvantage children or child care providers.
	As part of the consultation process we carried out an impact assessment of the proposed options on business including small to medium sized businesses. The data gathered during the consultation process will help to inform this assessment. Based on the evidence received, we will provide a fuller assessment of the direct impact on small to medium sized businesses.
	A decision about the future operation of the Scheme will be made after full consideration is given to the impact assessment, a comprehensive analysis of the consultation responses, and other relevant information.

South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many complaints were made about the South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust in each of the last 10 years; and how many such complaints were upheld.

Anna Soubry: The information is not available in the format requested. Such information as is available is in the following table:
	
		
			 Hospital and Community Health Services: written complaints made to South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust 
			  Total number of written complaints Of which: number upheld 
			 2003-04 188 n/a 
			 2004-05 149 n/a 
			 2005-06 147 n/a 
			 2006-07 nil n/a 
			 2007-08 nil n/a 
			 2008-09 nil n/a 
			 2009-10 nil n/a 
			 2010-11 nil n/a 
			 2011-12 286 36 
			 2012-13 434 243 
			 Notes: 1. ‘n/a’ denotes not applicable. 2. ‘nil’' denotes that an organisation did not submit a return. 3. South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust became a foundation trust after the 2005-06 data collection. Prior to 2011-2012, foundation trust participation was voluntary. Between 2006-07 and 2010-11, South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust did not submit a return. 4. Data on complaints upheld were first collected in 2011-12. It should be noted that these are experimental statistics. 5. During the 2012-13 collection, South Essex Partnership Foundation Trust acquired three community health services and also three services from Suffolk Community Healthcare. Comparisons with previous years should therefore be treated with caution. 6. Data quality: HSCIC seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) K041a dataset

South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of staff of the South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust are employed in a managerial role.

Daniel Poulter: The information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			 Hospital and Community Health Services: proportion of staff employed by South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust who are managers or senior managers as at 30 September 2012. 
			  Headcount 
			 All staff 5,749 
			 Of which:  
			 Managers and senior managers 177 
			   
			 Proportion of managerial staff (%) 3.08 
			 Notes: 1. ‘All staff’ includes all medical and dental and non-medical staff employed at the Trust. 2. ‘Managers and senior managers’ includes all administrative managerial staff. 3. Headcount totals may not equal the sum of components. New headcount methodology from 2010 onwards is not fully comparable with previous years' data due to improvements that make it a more stringent count of absolute staff numbers. 4. Data quality: HSCIC seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data but responsibility for data accuracy lies with the organisations providing the data. Methods are continually being updated to improve data quality. Where changes impact on figures already published, this is assessed but unless it is significant at national level figures are not changed. Impact at detailed or local level is footnoted in relevant analyses. Source: Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) Non-Medical Workforce Census and Medical and Dental Workforce Census

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Conditions of Employment

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many and what proportion of the staff of his Department have been on (a) fixed-term and (b) permanent contracts in each of the last five years.

Alistair Burt: The table shows the number and proportion of staff on fixed term and permanent contracts as recorded on our HR system on 31 March each year, in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Fixed term Permanent 
			  Number Percentage Number Percentage 
			 2009 37 0.8 4,788 99 
			 2010 67 1.3 4,796 96.1 
			 2011 41 0.9 4,638 96.9 
			 2012 34 0.7 4,489 98.1 
			 2013 33 0.7 4,693 97 
		
	
	We have taken permanent contracts to be Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) home civil servants and diplomatic staff and inward secondments from other civil service bodies.
	We also have a small number of staff that do not fit into either category, such as secondees from other Ministries of Foreign Affairs and fee paid officers recruited for specific roles.
	We have not included locally engaged staff as this would require us to contact each of our missions overseas and would incur disproportionate costs.

European External Action Service

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will discuss with his European Council colleagues reducing the 17 weeks per year holiday entitlement of EU staff working for the European External Action Service.

David Lidington: Holiday entitlement for staff working for the European External Action Service (EEAS) and other EU Institutions is set by the EU Staff Regulations at a basic annual minimum of 24 working days. This can rise to 30 days depending on the length of service.
	Special leave may also be granted in certain circumstances such as bereavement, or for marriage, but overall this would not amount to an entitlement of 17 weeks.
	As part of the Government's commitment to EU administrative reform, the UK argued for a review of leave provisions for EU staff during the recent negotiations on amended staff regulations. While we were not successful in this endeavour, the UK will continue to champion EU administrative reform at every possible opportunity including in the context of annual budgetary negotiations and the ongoing review of the EEAS.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential economic development of Gibraltar's territorial waters in (a) fishing, (b) land reclamation, (c) renewable energy and (d) oil and gas exploration; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: Economic development, fishing, and energy policy are all areas within the constitutional competence of the Government of Gibraltar. Because of this, the UK has made no recent assessment of these issues but will keep this under review as part of its regular dialogue with the Government of Gibraltar.

Gibraltar

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans he has to increase the depth of Gibraltar harbour in order to allow for the docking of Royal Navy aircraft carriers.

David Lidington: We do not assess that there is currently a need to increase the depth of Gibraltar's port in order for it to accommodate visiting naval assets. If the need were to arise in future it would have to be addressed in consultation with the Gibraltar Port Authority.

Gibraltar: Spain

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department is taking to support the Gibraltar authorities in preventing Spanish fishermen fishing illegally in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

David Lidington: In line with the 2006 Gibraltar Constitution, the Government of Gibraltar is responsible for enforcing the laws of Gibraltar, including those regulating fishing in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. The British Government is responsible for Gibraltar's external affairs, defence and some aspects of security. In relation to the dispute with Spain over fishing in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, the British Government has consistently supported efforts by the government of Gibraltar to reach a local solution and is confident that the Government of Gibraltar has a credible plan to resolve the dispute. I refer my hon. Friend to my answer of 20 May 2013 to my hon. Friend the Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell), Official Report, column 511W.

Gibraltar: Spain

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans the Government has to increase the powers available to the Gibraltar Squadron and the Royal Gibraltar Police to deal with incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.

David Lidington: Royal Gibraltar Police powers are a matter of Gibraltar law. The British Government's response to incursions is kept under review, including the use of Ministry of Defence assets. The Government's overarching commitment to ensure the security, prosperity and development of all the British Overseas Territories was set out in the Queen's Speech in Parliament on 8 May. We take this commitment seriously and we do not rule out any measures that are necessary to defend Gibraltar from a genuine threat to its security or defence. However, while the incursions of the Guardia Civil are an attempt to assert Spain's legal position in respect of the waters, they do not weaken or undermine the legal basis for British sovereignty over Gibraltar and British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. Nor are they acts of war. The Government's assessment is that the structures and procedures of the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron are adequate to deliver their current tasking.

Gibraltar: Spain

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Moroccan counterpart on the sovereignty of Gibraltar and the Spanish North African enclaves; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The UK has had no recent such discussions with Morocco. We are fully confident of UK sovereignty over Gibraltar.

Horn of Africa

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with (a) EU counterparts and (b) the Intergovernmental Authority on Development towards establishing a wildlife enforcement network in the Horn of Africa; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: Britain is committed to working with partners internationally to combat the growing problem of illegal wildlife trade. We will host a high level London Conference on illegal wildlife trade in early 2014 to galvanise top level political commitment to significant and meaningful action to tackle the issue.
	We have had no discussions with EU partners or the Intergovernmental Authority on Development about establishing a wildlife enforcement network in the Horn of Africa.

Nature Conservation: Crime

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the relationship between the (a) Lords Resistance Army, (b) Al Shabab and (c) similar groups and the illegal trafficking of wildlife products and ivory; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: We are aware of reports of the Lord's Resistance Army, Al Shabaab and other armed groups being involved in illegal wildlife trade.
	Illegal wildlife trade presents a security and corruption threat to range, transit and consumer states. We will host a high level London Conference on illegal wildlife trade in early 2014 to galvanise top level political commitment to significant and meaningful action to tackle the issue. We will continue to work with partners to understand and respond to the security and criminal implications.

Nature Conservation: Crime

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his (a) EU and (b) G8 counterparts on tackling wildlife trafficking; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Simmonds: Her Majesty's Government is committed to working with partners internationally to combat the growing problem of illegal wildlife trade. We will host a high level London Conference on illegal wildlife trade in early 2014 to galvanise top level political commitment to significant and meaningful action to tackle the issue.
	While there has been no recent ministerial-level discussions with EU and G8 colleagues on combating wildlife trafficking, Her Majesty's Government is working on galvanising top level political commitment to increase significant and meaningful action to tackle illegal wildlife trade.

Official Cars

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which senior officials of his Department are entitled to use the Government Car Service.

David Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 17 July 2013, Official Report, column 739W.

Official Cars

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost to his Department of using the Government Car Service was in each of the last four years.

David Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) to the hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) on 6 June 2013, Official Report, column 1225W.
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) officials do not use the Government Car Service.
	The FCO provides internal guidance to staff on use of public transport and taxis. The London Car Service, a small pool of cars operated by FCO Services, is also used by certain senior officials.

Pakistan

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps his Department has taken in response to the recent attacks on the Hazara people in Pakistan.

Alistair Burt: We continue to urge the Government of Pakistan to protect and guarantee the fundamental rights of all its citizens. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond (Yorks) (Mr Hague), raised issues of human rights and religious freedom during his visit to Pakistan in July.

Pakistan

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate his Department has made of the number of Hazara people murdered in Quetta, Pakistan in the last two years.

Alistair Burt: There are a number of different reports on the number of Hazara people killed in Quetta. Estimates from Human Rights Watch suggest over 100 Hazaras were killed in 2012 alone. Local media has also reported more than 700 Hazaras have been killed in Pakistan since 2004.

Syria

David Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports his Department has received about the welfare of Christians living in rebel-held areas of Syria.

Alistair Burt: We have serious concerns about rising sectarian tensions in Syria. We believe that President Assad's actions include a deliberate attempt to stir up tensions in his efforts to hold on to power. The regime's actions continue to undermine the stability and security of Syria and therefore endanger all Syria's citizens, including Christians and other religious minorities. The National Coalition has committed to reaching out to minorities and has made clear that there will be a place for all Syrians, regardless of ethnicity or religious belief, in a future Syria. We continue to encourage the National Coalition to deliver on these principles and commitments.

Syria

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will investigate whether any UK-manufactured chemicals have been used in any chemical weapons deployed in Syria.

Alistair Burt: The Government operates one of the most rigorous arms export control regimes in the world, and has been at the forefront of implementing an international sanctions regime on Syria. All export licence applications are considered by the Government on a case-by-case basis and in line with the provisions of the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. We will not grant a licence if the export would contravene any of our international legal obligations, including our obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
	Since the conflict began, the Government has issued only two licences for chemicals to Syria, for sodium fluoride and potassium fluoride, in January 2012. The exporter and recipient company demonstrated that the chemicals were for a legitimate civilian end use—which was for metal finishing of aluminium profiles used in making aluminium showers and aluminium window frames.
	The licences were revoked following a revision to the sanctions regime which came into force on 17 June 2012. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) advise that no goods were exported to Syria under these licences before they were revoked.
	We have reviewed all licences for chemicals to Syria between 2003 and the start of the conflict. Five licences were issued, which were all for sodium fluoride for use in cosmetic products. The quantities involved were commensurate with the stated end-use and there was no reason to link the end users with Syria's chemical weapons programme. No subsequent evidence has arisen to cast doubt on the assessments made at the time.

Taxis

Gavin Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the average cost per user is of his Department's use of the London Car Service.

David Lidington: Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services, a trading fund of the FCO, has a small pool of vehicles and security cleared drivers which are used mainly transporting Queen's Messengers, diplomatic bags and other classified material. As part of a long-standing arrangement the Permanent Under-Secretary and other senior officials are able to draw on this pool for official and operationally necessary travel and since 2010 FCO Ministers have also used the service.
	In the financial year 2012-13 approximately 90 individuals used the London Car Service, including Ministers, at an average cost of approximately £2,300 per user over the course of the year.

Treaty of Utrecht

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the governments of Spain and Catalonia on Spanish compliance with Article XIII of the Treaty of Utrecht 1713; and if he will make a statement.

David Lidington: The position of Catalonia within Spain is a domestic policy matter for Spain. The UK is clear that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to questions raised by movements calling for independence. Each case needs to be addressed according to its specific legal and constitutional circumstances and existing international agreements.

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many questions answered by his Department included fewer than four pages of statistics in the Official Report for the last month.

David Lidington: We do not hold this information centrally and it can be obtained only at disproportionate cost

Written Questions

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy to ensure that all answers provided by his Department containing tables of statistical data which would not require more than four pages in the Official Report are published in full rather than by reference to a hyperlink.

David Lidington: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 16 July 2013, Official Report, column 647W. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office follows advice in the "Guide to Parliamentary work" produced by the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons. This states that answers should reproduce information rather than refer to hyperlinks.

DEFENCE

Afghanistan

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average time is for which UK drones have loitered over targets in Afghanistan prior to the release of a missile; what records his Department keeps of the amount of time for which UK drones fly over civilian communities; what assessment his Department has made of the potential psychological effects of loitering drones on civilian populations; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: UK forces in Afghanistan operate a wide range of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), only one of which, the Reaper remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS), is armed. The information requested regarding the average time UK UAS may have loitered over targets in Afghanistan prior to the release of a missile, and the time UK UAS have flown over civilian communities, is not held in the format requested. UK policy is that, as far is operationally possible, UAS should not fly over built up areas.
	We have no reason to believe the presence of any type of aircraft in Afghanistan has had any psychological impact on the civilian population.

Afghanistan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the implementations of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and the role of women in conflict resolution and security in Afghanistan was discussed at the NATO Defence Ministers' meeting in June 2013.

Andrew Robathan: At the Heads of Government Chicago Summit in May 2012, the North Atlantic Council (NAC) was tasked to undertake a review of the practical implications of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 for the conduct of NATO-led operations. The review was completed in May 2013. The NATO Military Authorities have taken the recommendations of the NAC report and are now working to complete a draft implementation plan by the end of September 2013, which will be discussed by NATO Defence Ministers in due course.

Afghanistan

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure the security of women and girls in Afghanistan is protected (a) during and (b) after the withdrawal of military forces.

Andrew Robathan: The security of women and girls in Afghanistan will remain a priority for the UK. At the political level the UK Government is working with the Afghan Government to meet its constitutional commitments to preserve women's rights, including making sure that the law on Elimination of Violence Against Women and the National Action Plan for the Women of Afghanistan are fully implemented. The UK supports the Afghan Ministry of Interior to ensure the police understand their role in promoting women's rights, including protecting women's rights defenders. We also support the Ministry's efforts to increase the number of family response units across Afghanistan.

Afghanistan

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of drone missions undertaken by the UK in Afghanistan in each year resulted in the release of a missile.

Andrew Robathan: UK forces in Afghanistan operate unmanned aircraft systems to provide Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR), with Hermes 450, Desert Hawk III, T-Hawk, Black Hornet and Reaper systems. Reaper is the only armed system; the following table demonstrates that the majority of flights are also wholly in the ISTAR role, with only a small proportion resulting in one or more weapons being fired.
	
		
			  Number of sorties flown Number of sorties including a weapon (single or multiple) release Proportion of sorties including a weapon release (%) 
			 2008 296 14 5 
			 2009 431 33. 8 
			 2010 757 51 7 
			 2011 903 73 8 
			 2012 892 92 10 
			 2013 (to 31 July) 466 36 8 
			 Total 3,745 299 8

Armed Forces: Deployment

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what work and ongoing studies his Department is undertaking to examine the mental health impact of (a) deployment and (b) tours of duty that are extended beyond their original end date on (i) reservists and (ii) regular armed forces personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: The mental health of all military personnel, both regulars and reservists, is of high importance. We continue to commission an ongoing programme of research into the health of military personnel from the King's Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), which looks at a range of issues that may affect the mental health of all personnel, both regulars and reservists, including deployment and tour lengths. This research helps us to achieve a more scientific understanding of the impact of operations on the armed forces, and informs practice and policy in managing the health of our personnel. A considerable number of research papers have already been published, which can be accessed on the KCMHR area of the King's College London website.
	A KCMHR study published in The Lancet in 2010 indicated that the numbers of repeated deployments did not translate to an increase in any of the common mental health issues measured. However, a separate KCMHR study published in 2007 showed that if a regular service person is deployed for 13 or more months in any 36 month period, then there is an increased risk of mental health disturbance. The study reported that this risk is higher following an unexpected (rather than pre-planned) extension to a tour.

Army

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Army service leavers there have been in each of the last three years; and how many Army Service Leaver's Packs have been issued in each such year.

Mark Francois: Armed forces manpower outflow data is published by Defence Statistics at the following link:
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/publications/personnel/military/quarterly_personnel_report/2013-07-01/1_july_2013.pdf?PublishTime=09:30:00
	For ease of reference published data for the number of regular Army service leavers during the last three financial years (FY) can be found in the following table:
	
		
			 Financial year Service leavers 
			 2010-11 11,500 
			 2011-12 13,200 
			 2012-13 14,890 
		
	
	The number of Service Leaver's Packs (SLPs) issued specifically to regular Army personnel is not held. However, data regarding the numbers issued to all regular armed forces personnel exists, and this is provided in the following table. For comparative purposes, details about the total outflow of regular armed forces personnel during the same period are also provided:
	
		
			 Financial year Service leavers SLPs issued 
			 2010-11 18,140 17,927 
			 2011-12 21,370 22,707 
			 2012-13 23,520 25,215 
			 Note: As SLPs are normally despatched approximately nine months prior to leaving the service, the number issued during a particular financial year will not mirror the number of service leavers during the same period.

Chinook Helicopters

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost of operating (a) three variants and (b) a single version of the Chinook helicopter.

Philip Dunne: We do not record separately the cost associated with each mark of the Chinook helicopter. All three variants will utilise common engines, transmissions, rotor blades and largely common avionic systems. They are also supported under the same contracted arrangements and services against identified maintenance schedules. I refer the hon. Member to the answer 1 gave on 8 October 2012, Official Report, columns 663-64W, for the support and maintenance expenditure over the last three financial years for the Chinook fleet (of all marks).

Chinook Helicopters

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many personnel were involved in the testing of the Chinook HC.6 at Naval Air Warfare Centre Aircraft Division at Naval Air Station Patuxent River; and what the cost to the public purse was of such testing.

Philip Dunne: There were two Ministry of Defence (MOD), 16 Boeing and 10 QinetiQ personnel involved in the flight tests for a Chinook Mk6 helicopter at Naval Air Station Patuxent River between 10 April and 8 August 2013. This was part of flight testing that had been planned as an integral part of the MOD's £847 million acquisition in 2011 of the Chinook Mk6.
	The cost of this flight trial was circa £5.7 million.

Defence: Procurement

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on adopting programmes similar to the United States Foreign Military Sales system.

Philip Dunne: I have recently commissioned a joint Ministry of Defence/Industry study to consider whether aspects of the US Foreign Military Sales system could be adopted by the UK. This study is at too early a stage to speculate on what conclusions will be drawn.

Firing Ranges: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions his Department has had with (a) local residents and (b) Colchester Borough Council on proposals to erect fences at the Middlewick firing range, Colchester; and if he will make a statement.

Mark Francois: Local councillors were informed of the proposal to erect a fence at Middlewick ranges at a regularly held stakeholder meeting, at which it was agreed to inform local residents via a letter. These letters were sent in early August 2013.

Firing Ranges: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what estimate he has made of the cost of erecting fences at the Middlewick firing range, Colchester.

Mark Francois: The estimated cost of erecting the fence at Middlewick ranges is £25,000.

Hercules Aircraft

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Hercules transport aircraft will be kept in service to meet the needs of forces designed for special operations; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Robathan: We do not comment on any aspect of special forces operations.

Lost Property

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many items were lost at (a) COD Donnington and (b) COD Bicester since September 2012; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the value of items lost at (a) COD Donnington and (b) COD Bicester was since September 2012; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  if he will publish details of the auditing processes for (a) COD Donnington and (b) COD Bicester; and if he will make a statement. [Official Report, 17 October 2013, Vol. 568, c. 9MC]

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) Annual Report and Accounts includes reportable materiel losses. Culpable losses include the result of proven or suspected fraud, theft, arson or sabotage, or any other deliberate act including repairable damage caused maliciously to buildings, stores or other equipment.
	Non-culpable losses include the result of accidental damage or unavoidable and/or unforeseen circumstances. Non-culpable losses can also occur where the loss of materiel could be expected in the normal course of MOD business, e.g. inventory or equipment damaged or destroyed by enemy fire or due to authorised tests or practice firings. However, unless there is evidence of culpability, losses in these circumstances are not reportable in the Annual Report and Accounts.
	The total value of stock issued from Logistic Commodities and Services (LCS) Bicester and LCS Donnington for the period 1 October 2012 to 30 June 2013 was £3.8 billion. The number and value of reportable materiel losses for the same period is contained in the following tables:
	
		
			 Number of instances of loss 
			  LCS Bicester LCS Donnington 
			 Lost on site 2 12 
			 Lost in transit 390 1,058 
			 Notes: 1. A single incidence may involve the loss of more than one item. 2. 30 June 2013 is the end of the last full quarterly accounting period. 
		
	
	
		
			 Value of items lost 
			 £000 
			  LCS Bicester LCS Donnington 
			 Lost on site 5 20 
			 Lost in transit 606 1,883 
			 Note: The figures are gross and do not include any potential future recovery of lost items. 
		
	
	The principles and processes for materiel accounting are contained within the Defence Logistic Support Chain Manual (Volume 4) which is published on the internet at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jsp-886-volume-04-materiel-accounting
	The LCS Bicester and LCS Donnington materiel and financial accounts are audited by the Defence Internal Audit Team and the National Audit Office.
	In November 2012 Defence Equipment and Support began implementing the Inventory Strategic Plan to control inventory within the future Defence supply chain. This programme of work will drive the practice of high quality inventory management throughout the Department that will deliver and maintain optimised inventory across Defence.

Lost Property

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  at what point lost items of equipment are considered to have been stolen; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what criteria are used for determining whether lost items should be written off or considered a theft; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: It is the Ministry of Defence (MOD) policy that all losses of materiel are investigated and reported in accordance with the Defence Logistic Support Chain Manual. If stocktaking discrepancies are identified an independent reconciler initiates an investigation, the level of which is dependent on the value and stocktaking category of the item. It is during the investigation that the cause of the discrepancy will be identified and, in cases where criminal activity is suspected, the situation is to be reported to the MOD, service or civilian police as appropriate. Before approving any write-off the authorising officer must be clear about the nature of the case; the amount involved; and the circumstances in which the loss arose; and its causes, including any relevant information from police reports; and if there is any suspicion of theft, fraud, arson or sabotage. Before writing off expenditure, there must be clear evidence that all reasonable action has been taken to recover the loss and that no feasible alternative exists. All items lost as a result of theft are subsequently written-off.
	In November 2012 Defence Equipment and Support began implementing the Inventory Strategic Plan to control inventory within the future Defence supply chain. This programme of work will drive the practice of high-quality inventory management throughout the Department that will deliver and maintain optimised inventory across Defence.

Middle East

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the defence implications and the impact on regional stability of the growing insurgency in the Sinai peninsula and the conflict on the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip.

Andrew Murrison: We continue to be concerned by the security situation in the Sinai peninsula and the conflict on the Egyptian border with the Gaza Strip. The Suez canal remains of critical importance for UK interests, and we are also concerned by recent reports of an attack on the canal. We are monitoring the security situation closely and raise it regularly with the Egyptian authorities.

Ministry of Defence Guard Service

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Ministry of Defence Guard Service staff are employed at front line command sites in (a) South Tyneside, (b) the North East and (c) the UK.

Mark Francois: The number of Ministry of Defence Guard Service staff who are employed at front line command sites as at 3 September 2013, are listed in the following table:
	
		
			 Area Number of staff employed 
			 South Tyneside 0 
			 The North East 58 
			 The UK 1,268

Navy: Military Exercises

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what assets and how many personnel were involved in Exercise Cougar in each of the last five years;
	(2)  what the cost to the public purse was of Exercise Cougar in each of the last five years.

Andrew Robathan: Cougar deployments are the annual forward deployment of core elements of Defence's Maritime Response Force Task Group (RFTG). The RFTG was established by the Strategic Defence and Security Review of 2010, which set the requirement for the Navy to generate a Very High Readiness maritime contingent capability. Cougar deployments are directed through a Whitehall process by Defence to maintain the readiness of the RFTG and deliver Maritime Security and Defence Engagement. That engagement is delivered through exercises with allies and partners to build defence relationships and promote interoperability.
	Cougar 2011 was planned for HMS Albion, HMS Ocean, HMS Sutherland, RFA Cardigan Bay, RFA Mounts Bay, RFA Fort Rosalie, RFA Wave Knight, elements of 40 Commando Royal Marines, 539 Assault Squadron RM, 845 Naval Air Squadron and support to take part in the deployment to the Middle East. This changed with the activation of Op Deference, Op Ellamy and Op Unified Protector in response to events in Libya; additional assets deployed as required supplementing the Cougar 2011 assets. The information requested about costs for Cougar 11 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	For Cougar 2012 HMS Bulwark, HMS Illustrious, HMS Montrose, RFA Mounts Bay, HMS Dragon, elements of 45 Commando Royal Marines, 845, 854 and 814 Naval Air Squadrons and support deployed to the Mediterranean. Other assets joined Cougar 12 for short periods while en-route to their deployment tasking. The marginal cost for port visits and marine fuel cost for Cougar 12 was £4.2 million.
	The total number of personnel involved changes constantly; detailed records are not maintained and the information requested for Cougar 11 and 12 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The assets currently deployed on Cougar 2013 are HMS Bulwark, HMS Illustrious, RFA Fort Austin, RFA Mounts Bay, RFA Lyme Bay, RFA Fort Victoria, RoRo Hurst Point, elements of the Lead Royal Marine Commando Group, 43 Cdo Fleet Protection Group RM, Fleet Diving Group, and elements of Joint Helicopter Command (three Lynx Mk 7, three Sea King Mk4 and three Apache helicopter 64). Throughout the deployment it is planned that other assets will join Cougar 13 for short periods; for example, HMS Westminster and HMS Montrose sailed with Cougar en-route to their own operational tasking. As at 27 August 2013 there were approximately 2,700 personnel deployed as part of the Cougar 13 Task Group. The costs of this deployment are not yet available.
	In addition to those personnel directly deployed on Cougar, the deployments are supported in the UK and around the world by civilian and military personnel in the Ministry of Defence, Foreign and Commonwealth Office and other Government Departments.

Niteworks

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the annual budget was of UK Niteworks in each year since 2003.

Philip Dunne: Ministry of Defence (MOD) annual expenditure on Niteworks since financial year (FY) 2008-09 is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Financial year Core capability Project costs Total 
			 2008-09 8.9 5.5 14.4 
			 2009-10 8.4 7.4 15.8 
			 2010-11 8.1 13.4 21.5 
			 2011-12 8.9 19.6 28.5 
			 2012-13 8.4 19.3 27.7 
		
	
	Total expenditure on Niteworks from 2003 to 2008 was £61.4 million; annual figures are no longer available prior to FY 2008-09.
	The Niteworks core capability budget for FY 2013-14 is £5.8 million. Project costs will be dependent upon MOD demand.

Niteworks

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people are employed by UK Niteworks.

Philip Dunne: As at September 2013 there are eight Crown Servants working in Niteworks; an additional post is currently vacant.
	The contract also currently involves some 119 full-time equivalent (FTE) posts drawn from the Niteworks Partnership companies. This comprises a core team, around 19 FTE, and a number of project teams, around 100 FTE. The number of people employed in the core and project teams will fluctuate at any given time, depending on demand.

Parachute Regiment

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on changes in parachute training for members of the Parachute Regiment and (a) the discontinuation of annual refresher jumps for qualified parachutists and the potential effect this will have on combat-readiness, (b) the promotion of new annual intakes of recruits who (i) will and (ii) will not receive parachute training and the potential effect this will have on combat-readiness and (c) the military rationale for these changes.

Andrew Robathan: The Ministry of Defence remains committed to ensuring that all personnel are fully trained for the roles they are required to undertake.
	While there is no requirement for annual refresher jumps all personnel in the Parachute Regiment are required to undertake one jump every two years to maintain their qualification. This policy has been in place for the past 10 years with no detrimental effect to combat readiness. There have been no changes to this.
	All new recruits to the Parachute Regiment are required to undertake the basic parachute course. There have been some delays in individuals completing the basic parachute course since April 2011 but there are now initiatives in place to increase the allocation of places in order that all personnel will receive the required training. This has had no effect on the combat-readiness of the Parachute Battalions.
	While current planning prioritises assets in support of operations in Afghanistan, the Strategic Defence and Security Review of October 2010 confirmed the requirement for a parachute capability in the future.

RAF Akrotiri

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effect the deployment of six Typhoon aircraft to RAF Akrotiri will have on the air bridge to Afghanistan.

Andrew Robathan: The deployment of Typhoon aircraft to Akrotiri is not expected to have any impact on the Afghanistan air bridge.

RAF Northolt

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the responses received to his Department's consultation on increasing the number of civilian flights into and out of RAF Northolt; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) intends to increase commercial aviation flights at RAF Northolt within the current airspace capacity of 40 commercial movements per day, with a cap of 12,000 commercial movements per year. These civilian commercial movements will be strictly in accordance with extant arrangements. Representatives from RAF Northolt met with the Leader of London borough of Hillingdon, local councillors, and residents' associations to discuss the proposal. No other public consultation took place.

RAF Northolt

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many (a) military flights, (b) non-commercial civil flights and (c) commercial civilian flights there were (i) into or (ii) out of RAF Northolt in (A) 2010-11, (B) 2011-12 and (C) 2012-13; how many such flights are expected to take place in (1) 2013-14, (2) 2014-15 and (3) 2015-16; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many civilian flights from RAF Northolt there were on 1 September (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012 and (d) 2013; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  whether civilian flights (a) from and (b) into RAF Northolt were restricted to the hours of 0800 to 2000 in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12 and (iii) 2012-13; whether such flights will continue to be restricted in such fashion in (A) 2013-14, (B) 2014-15 and (C) 2015-16; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: RAF Northolt only record aircraft movements; take-offs and landings are not recorded separately. The movements at RAF Northolt are recorded by calendar year. One movement is either one take-off or one landing.
	Military aircraft movements include those of foreign military aircraft. Civilian non-commercial aircraft include civil registered aircraft used for Royal and British Government charters, visiting Heads of State and Government officials, air ambulance and police flights. There are no caps on the numbers of military or civilian non-commercial aircraft movements.
	Civilian commercial aircraft are restricted to aircraft with fewer than 30 passengers and have for the entire period requested been restricted to the hours of 0800 to 2000 and 12,000 aircraft movements per annum. These restrictions are not currently planned to change in the future years requested.
	The following table provides the number of movements (take-off or landing) in each category by calendar year requested:
	
		
			 Calendar year Military aircraft movements Civilian non-commercial movements Civilian commercial movements Total movements 
			 2013(1) 2,642 564 5,116 8,322 
			 2012 4,721 731 6,677 12,129 
			 2011 5,436 844 6,753 13,033 
			 2010 5,701 403 6,303 12,407 
			 (1 )To 31 July. 
		
	
	RAF Northolt is currently on track to accept around 8,000 civilian commercial aircraft movements in 2013. Planning assumptions are for around 10,500 civilian commercial aircraft movement slots in 2014 and up to 12,000 civilian commercial aircraft movement slots in 2015 to be made available.
	The following table contains the number of movements (take-off or landing) on 1 September of each requested year. Airspace restrictions were in place on 1 September 2012 due to the Paralympics.
	
		
			  Total civilian commercial movements 
			 1 September:  
			 2013 23 
			 2012 12 
			 2011 21 
			 2010 21

RAF Northolt

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which organisations were consulted by his Department before the decision to increase the number of civilian flights from RAF Northolt was taken; and if he will make a statement.

Philip Dunne: As the appropriate aviation regulatory authorities, the Ministry of Defence consulted with the Department for Transport, the Civil Aviation Authority and National Air Traffic Services before the decision was taken to increase the revenue from commercial aviation flights at RAF Northolt.

RAF Spadeadam

Guy Opperman: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he next plans to visit RAF Spadeadam.

Philip Hammond: holding answer 4 September 2013
	I have no current plans to visit RAF Spadeadam.

Reserve Forces

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost is of the Capita Reserve Forces Recruiting Group processing contract.

Mark Francois: The Army is working in partnership with Capita to deliver the recruitment of both Regular and Army Reserve personnel. Under the 10-year contract with Capita to deliver whole-Army recruiting, annual payments will depend on the number of recruits the Army is likely to require. For the current year the Capita cost of recruiting is likely to be around £50 million. This arrangement is expected to deliver enhancements to the recruiting process as well as freeing up personnel, over time, back to the armed forces.

Reserve Forces

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people applied to join the Reserve Army in the most recent period for which figures are available; how many of them have been processed; and what the average time taken by Capita is to process applications.

Mark Francois: The Army is operating in partnership with Capita to deliver Army recruitment. In the first quarter of recruiting year 2013-14, 3,301 applications were received to join the Army Reserve. All of the applications have been processed to some degree, resulting in some candidates being rejected, others continuing to progress through the recruitment process, and others being finally approved for enlistment.
	It will take time to accurately measure the growth in Reserve Forces following the announcement of 3 July 2013, Official Report, column 932, but the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) has said the Government remains committed to keeping the House updated through the publication of both recruitment figures and trained strength figures as the Army Reserve moves forward.
	Each application is processed according to individual circumstances. Factors such as medical issues and availability are likely to affect the time spent in the recruitment process. In general it is anticipated that a candidate will be able to progress from application to enlistment in about 90 days.

Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other means in each year of the current parliament.

Mark Francois: I apologise for the length of time it has taken to provide the hon. Member with a response to her question. I will write to the hon. Member, with the information requested shortly.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of the Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System Capability Concept Demonstrator contract; and how long he expects the programme to run.

Philip Dunne: The cost of the Rotary Wing Unmanned Air System Capability Concept Demonstrator contract is just under £2.3 million, and the project is expected to run for two years, until 2015.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on the installation of software on MQ-9 unmanned aerial vehicles to allow them to use inclined orbit satellites for communication and navigation.

Philip Dunne: There is no requirement to install software on the UK Reaper unmanned aircraft to enable use of inclined orbit satellites at this time.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of Hellfire missiles fired by RAF unmanned aerial vehicles hit their target in each of the last three years. [R]

Andrew Robathan: I have nothing further to add to the answer the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, my hon. Friend the Member for Ludlow (Mr Dunne) gave on 17 January 2013, Official Report, column 889W.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects a decision about the Royal Navy ISTAR urgent operational requirement is expected to be made; and what the expected in-service date is. [R]

Philip Dunne: The business case to provide a Scan Eagle capability as an urgent operational requirement was approved in March 2013 and we expect the capability to start becoming available from the end of 2013 onwards.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the cost has been of the Hermes 450 programme to date; and what the projected future costs are of that programme; [R]
	(2)  what the cost has been of the Watchkeeper programme to date; and what the projected future costs are of that programme. [R]

Philip Dunne: To the end of financial year (FY) 2012-13 the total spend for delivering and sustaining the Hermes 450 capability on operations was £165 million against a total financial approval of £214 million.
	To the end of FY 2012-13 the total spend on the Watchkeeper programme was £831 million. The current financial approval for the Watchkeeper programme is £1.035 billion for equipment acquisition and initial in-service support.

Victoria Cross

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his policy is on commemorating the holders of the Victoria Cross awarded for actions in the First World War who were not born in the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Don Foster: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The men who gave their lives in the Great War remain heroes forever, and this is why we recently announced a commemorative paving stone campaign to honour Victoria Cross recipients from the First World War. None of them will be forgotten in our campaign, whether they were born in the UK or not, and we are currently identifying the best way to remember those born abroad. This will be in addition to plans to commemorate these figures overseas, which are currently being finalised by Foreign and Commonwealth Office Posts.
	The Government will be making further announcements in due course.

CABINET OFFICE

Alcoholic Drinks: Birmingham

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths in Birmingham were attributed to alcohol in (a) 2010, (b) 2011 and (c) 2012.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated September 2013
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths in Birmingham were attributed to alcohol in (a) 2010, (b)2011 and (c) 2012. (167743)
	The table provides the number of deaths where the underlying cause was alcohol-related, for Birmingham metropolitan district, for death registered in the years 2010, 2011 and 2012.
	Alcohol-related deaths are reported consistently across the United Kingdom using an agreed National Statistics definition that only includes those causes regarded as being most directly due to alcohol consumption (see Box 1 below).
	Alcohol-related death figures-for the UK, England, Wales, and regions of England, for 1991 to 2011 are available on the ONS website at:
	www.ons.gov.uk/ons/publications/all-releases.html?definition=tcm%3A77-29395
	
		
			 Table 1. Number of deaths where the underlying cause was alcohol-related for Birmingham Metropolitan District, for 2010, 2011 and 2012(1,2,3,4) 
			 Year Deaths 
			 2010 148 
			 2011 148 
			 2012 127 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (1CD-I0). The specific causes which are included in the National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths, and their corresponding ICD-10 codes, are shown in Box 1 below. (2)( )Figures exclude deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			 Box 1. National Statistics definition of alcohol-related deaths (ICD-10) 
			 ICD-10 code Description 
			 F10 Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol 
			 G31.2 Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol 
			 G62.1 Alcoholic polyneuropathy 
			 I42.6 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy 
			 K29.2 Alcoholic gastritis 
			 K70 Alcoholic liver disease 
			 K73 Chronic hepatitis, not elsewhere classified 
			 K74 Fibrosis and cirrhosis of liver (Excluding K74.3-K74.5—Billiary cirrhosis) 
			 K86.0 Alcohol induced chronic pancreatitis 
			 X45 Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol 
			 X65 Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to alcohol 
			 Y15 Poisoning by and exposure to alcohol, undetermined intent

Big Society Network

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 12 July 2013, Official Report, column 414W, on Big Society Network, if he will publish the letter of complaint about the Big Society Network; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Hurd: In line with the practice of previous Administrations such correspondence is not normally disclosed.

Civil Servants: Disability

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will consider agreeing a disability leave entitlement to staff in the Civil Service who have returned to work after claiming disability benefits.

Francis Maude: The civil service should always make reasonable adjustments to minimise disadvantage people may face in the workplace because of a disability. This includes discretion for disabled employees in the management of their attendance. It is for individual Departments to determine how this is applied, but typical approaches may include allowing special leave or other paid time off for employees with a disability to have treatment or attend rehabilitation or medical appointments.

Government Departments: Procurement

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much the audit of procurement contracts held by G4S and Serco will cost.

Chloe Smith: The Government-wide review of contracts held by G4S and Serco commenced on 22 July 2013 and is expected to report in the autumn. Details are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/news/review-of-government-g4s-and-serco-contracts
	Further information on the costs of the review will be published in due course.

Housing: Sales

Nick de Bois: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many sales of residential properties were completed in each year since 1992.

Michael Fallon: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
	HM Land Registry covers England and Wales and began collating the data requested in 1995. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own land registration departments. The following table gives total number of house sales in England and Wales from 1995, including January to June 2013.
	
		
			  Total number of house sales England and Wales 
			 1995 800,494 
			 1996 966,619 
			 1997 1,094,974 
			 1998 1,050,631 
			 1999 1,205,304 
			 2000 1,143,585 
			 2001 1,260,565 
			 2002 1,367,877 
			 2003 1,278,139 
			 2004 1,289,382 
			 2005 1,068,745 
			 2006 1,331,233 
		
	
	
		
			 2007 1,276,841 
			 2008 646,919 
			 2009 626,446 
			 2010 665,684 
			 2011 662,673 
			 2012 668,922 
			 January to June 2013 322,437

Internet: Scotland

Ann McKechin: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what discussions he has had with (a) the Scottish Government, (b) the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and (c) the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations regarding the procurement options for delivery of the assisted digital scheme in Scotland.

Nick Hurd: In line with the practice of previous Administrations, details of discussions with the Scottish Government are not normally disclosed.
	As part of my Department's transparency programme, details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on the Cabinet Office website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/cabinet-office/series/ministers-transparency-publications
	The Scottish Government is represented on the Digital Leaders Network and on the Assisted Digital Programme Board.

Public Appointments: Females

Michael Fabricant: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to increase the representation of women on the boards of public bodies.

Francis Maude: This Government's aspiration is that 50% of new public appointees should be women by the end of this Parliament. The Centre for Public Appointments in the Cabinet Office is working with colleagues across Whitehall to modernise recruitment practices and to attract a more diverse field of candidates. As part of this work, I recently hosted an event to encourage more applications from women.
	This is also the first year that the Government has published its own statistics on the gender diversity of public appointments. 37% of new public appointments made by Whitehall Departments in 2012-13 were women. The Government will be updating this information on a six monthly basis.

Senior Civil Servants

Stephen Barclay: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many senior civil servants left his Department and public bodies under voluntary exit and received a severance payment in each of the last three years; and what the value of such payments was.

Francis Maude: After the last General Election, Government comprehensively reformed the Civil Service Compensation scheme, ensuring significant savings for taxpayers. Where compensation payments were made, Departments estimated costs would generally be recouped within a year. The early departure programmes should be seen in the context of a reduction in civil service employment by 78,000 FTE staff, or 16%, since March 2010. Reducing the size of the civil service and other reforms saved the taxpayer £2.2 billion in 2012-13 compared to 2009-10.
	The following table sets out the number of senior civil servants who left my Department and its public bodies under voluntary exit terms during each of the last three years and the total value of their severance payments:
	
		
			  Number of SCS Total severance payments (£) 
			 2012-13 0 0 
			 2011-12 12 1.22 million 
			 2010-11 (1)— 531,000 
			 (1) 5 or fewer.

Senior Civil Servants

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what progress he has made in cutting the size of severance packages for senior civil servants.

Francis Maude: In 2010 this Government made significant reforms to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme. The scheme applies to all civil servants, regardless of grade. Through our reforms the value of compensation entitlement that can be accrued has been reduced and the salary used in the calculation limited. Other changes include a reduction in the maximum amount of compensation payable per year of service and a salary underpin that protects the lower paid.
	In the view of the NAO the departures under the first year of the scheme were some 40% to 50% cheaper than they would have been under the scheme we inherited.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Energy

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he plans to discuss the Fifth Report from the Energy and Climate Change Committee on Energy Prices, Profits and Poverty, HC 108, with (a) the big six energy companies, (b) smaller energy suppliers and (c) Ofgem before making his response to that report.

Michael Fallon: The Department meets with the big six energy companies, smaller energy suppliers and Ofgem regularly to discuss a range of issues.
	We are considering carefully the recommendations made in the Fifth Report of this Session from the Energy and Climate Change select committee on Energy Prices, Profits and Poverty and will be responding in full by the end of September.

Energy: EU Action

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he expects to obtain EU state aid approval for the proposed capacity market.

Michael Fallon: The Government has taken into account EU state aid rules when designing the Capacity Market and our discussions with the Commission cover whether or not state aid may be present, and if there is state aid, whether it is permissible.
	If the Government concludes that it needs to make a formal notification on the Capacity Market we would expect the Commission to make a decision as soon as possible consistent with its procedural regulations. The Commission is aware of the UK's implementation timetable for Electricity Market Reform (EMR) and is working constructively with us to deliver this.

Fuel Poverty

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change pursuant to the answer of 13 May 2013, Official Report, column 20W, on energy, whether the information gathered through the Energy Saving Advice Service has been used to offer additional assistance to fuel poor households.

Gregory Barker: The Energy Saving Advice Service (or ESAS) provides a referral service for ECO Affordable Warmth, which delivers heating and insulation measures to low income, vulnerable consumers. To date nearly 16,000 referrals have been made to obligated energy suppliers that have agreed to offer a minimum package of assistance to these households within an agreed time frame. The support available can include a survey of the property, tariff advice, checking eligibility for the Warm Home Discount Broader Group and if appropriate a heating and insulation measure.
	As we approach winter, my officials will be seeking opportunities to maximise the use of the service. Plans are already in place to promote it through existing correspondence to qualifying benefit recipients from the Department for Work and Pensions, and DECC's communications to Warm Home Discount Core Group recipients. The Big Energy Saving Network will also be encouraging vulnerable consumers to call ESAS to see if they are eligible for the support.

Hinkley Point C Power Station

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the potential public investment contract for Hinkley Point C Power Station whether prior to entering into negotiations with a single company, his Department first published in the EU Official Journal a notice inviting tenders or expressions of interest for such electrical generating capacity, under Article 8 of EC Directive 2009/72.

Michael Fallon: We do not consider that the potential investment contract for Hinkley Point C falls within the scope of Article 8. The investment contract, if agreed, is designed to be a market-based intervention to provide price stability for nuclear generation during the transition to a low carbon economy.

Insulation: Housing

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment his Department has made on the effect on (a) nesting birds and (b) other wildlife of changes to housing insulation introduced as part of the Green Deal.

Gregory Barker: Substantial impact assessment work was undertaken on the Green Deal but this issue was not covered.

Renewable Energy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the installation cost, excluding subsidies and levies, of a megawatt of each current type of renewable electricity generation in each year since 2002.

Michael Fallon: DECC has published levelised costs estimates of various generation technologies on the DECC website since 2010. The levelised cost of a particular generation technology is the ratio of the total costs of a generic plant to the total amount of electricity expected to be generated over the plant's lifetime (per megawatt hour). Levelised costs include installation costs, but also pre-development costs, infrastructure costs, operating costs, connection costs and carbon and fuel costs. They do not include revenues or support payments, The estimates include estimates of costs for plants starting now and in the future. All documents relating to electricity generation costs are available on the DECC website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-of-energy-climate-change/series/energy-generation-cost-projections
	Levelised cost estimates for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, discount rate and other drivers and this means that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates. It is perhaps more appropriate to consider a range of cost estimates as pipeline projects show a large range around these central values. These are shown in Table 2 for a range around capital costs and fuel prices for projects starting in 2012 and 2013.

Renewable Energy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the total expenditure required on transmission lines and associated infrastructure needed by 2020 to ensure that the UK meets its renewable energy targets.

Michael Fallon: The Department published estimates of electricity network costs for the decade to 2020 as part of the Electricity Market Reform Delivery Plan Update Impact Assessment (published in July 2013)(1). We estimate that £50 billion of investment in electricity networks may be needed for the decade to 2020, of which £23 billion is transmission (onshore and offshore).
	(1)( )(see para 123)
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225981/emr_delivery_plan_ia.pdf

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Biodiversity

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs under his plans for a biodiversity offsetting scheme, how he plans to (a) safeguard against the loss of habitats supporting rare or threatened bee species, (b) value the social and health benefit of access to natural spaces and (c) take into account wider ecosystem services provided by natural spaces such as pollination and climate change mitigation; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA intends to consult on the detail of a national biodiversity offsetting scheme and plans to publish a Green Paper soon. The consultation will include consideration of these issues.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what (a) criteria and (b) methodology his Department will use to evaluate the humaneness of badger culls in pilot areas; and if he will make a statement.

David Heath: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Coventry South (Mr Cunningham) on 12 June 2013, Official Report, columns 348-9W.

Consultants

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much (a) he and (b) officials in his Department spent on external assistance to prepare for (i) appearances before select committees and (ii) contact with the media in (A) 2011-12 and (B) 2012-13; and if he will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Records of such spend are not held in a way that is readily available, therefore this question could be answered only at disproportionate cost.

Dogs: Electronic Training Aids

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of recent research funded by his Department into behavioural and physiological changes to dogs arising from the use of electric shock collars; and if he will make it his policy to ban such collars.

David Heath: Research funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs into the use of remote electronic training collars on dogs concluded that while such devices had a negative effect on some dogs this was not enough to justify a ban on their use. We are working with the industry for them to develop guidance for owners and trainers advising how to use e-collars properly as well as on the manufacture of these collars in order to reduce the availability, of poor quality devices.

Energy: Conservation

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress he has made on raising energy efficiency standards for electrical appliances.

David Heath: DEFRA has worked with the European Commission and other member states this year to agree EU-wide measures that set minimum energy performance standards for the following electrical appliances:
	Water heaters and water storage tanks
	Space heaters
	Vacuum cleaners
	Computers and laptops
	Hobs/grill and cookers
	Electric motors
	Standby limits for products connected to a network have also been agreed.

Livestock: Transport

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many warning notices have been issued by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratory Agency for breaches of the legislation to shipments of live farm animals transported from England to continental Europe since 1 May 2013.

David Heath: Since 1 May 2013, a total of seven statutory notices have been served by the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency for breaches of welfare during transport legislation.

Nature Conservation

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of efforts to improve the effectiveness of habitat replacement schemes.

Richard Benyon: Habitat replacement schemes have been used in a number of circumstances, including providing compensatory measures under the Habitats and Birds Directive.
	In July 2012, we established the Habitats and Wild Bird Directives Marine Evidence Group to fulfil and advise on measures for sharing data and improving the marine evidence base to support decision making in the marine environment under these directives. The Marine Evidence Group published its initial findings in 2013. It is developing proposals for improved post consent monitoring and to assess the effectiveness of mitigation and compensation around offshore wind farm construction.
	We are currently funding research on the effectiveness of habitat creation or management for bats following infrastructure development. This work is due to report in March 2015. We are also currently inviting tenders for a one year research project to review of the effectiveness of Natura 2000 site compensation measures in England, with a focus on coastal development. This work will start in October.

Porpoises

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what steps he has put in place to protect harbour porpoises in UK waters;
	(2)  what progress he has made on the designation of Special Areas of Conservation for harbour porpoises under the Habitats Directive.

Richard Benyon: Protection for harbour porpoise is provided for under the EU habitats directive and Wildlife and Countryside Act, and through bycatch mitigation measures implemented under EU Regulation 812/2004.
	The UK has already submitted a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for harbour porpoise in Northern Ireland. Work to identify other potential SACs for harbour porpoise, in accordance with obligations under the habitats directive, is continuing. An analysis of data for harbour porpoise in UK waters, with the aim of determining possible suitable sites for SAC designation, is due to report later this year.

Porpoises

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of offshore wind farms on harbour porpoises.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA's Habitats and Birds Directives Marine Evidence Group works with industry, environmental organisations, other Government Departments and agencies to improve evidence on how marine developments affect the environment. This group has recognised the need for improved evidence on the impact of underwater noise on marine mammals given planned large-scale offshore wind energy development in UK seas. Through the group, DEFRA recently commissioned internationally recognised experts to provide an objective assessment, based on current published literature, of the potential impacts of underwater noise from planned offshore wind energy development on harbour porpoise in the North sea. A report will be published on the GOV.UK website shortly.
	The group also exchanges information on research, including a project funded by DECC, Marine Scotland, The Crown Estate and others to develop a Population Consequences of Disturbance Interim Framework for evaluation of population level impacts of the construction and operation of offshore renewables on a range of marine mammal species including harbour porpoise. The Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Programme, initiated by DECC, Marine Scotland and The Crown Estate, plans to include a longer-term project to improve empirical evidence on the impacts of offshore renewables on marine mammals.

Water: East of England

Robert Halfon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the water leakage levels in the Eastern region other than Essex were in each year since 2008.

Richard Benyon: Water leakage figures are not available by region or county as water companies' operating areas do not align with local authority boundaries. The water companies serving the Eastern Region are Anglian Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, Thames Water, Cambridge Water and Affinity Water. Their leakage rates since 2008 have been:
	
		
			  2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Anglian Water Services 211 211 230 199 189 
			 Essex and Suffolk 67 67 65 59 54 
			 Thames Water Utilities Ltd 698 670 665 637 646 
			 Cambridge Water Company plc 14.0 14.2 13.7 12.4 12.0 
			 Veolia Water Central (now Affinity Water) 142 143 181 158 178 
			 Veolia Water East (now Affinity Water) 5.1 5.0 5.0 4.3 4.0 
		
	
	Leakage Performance from 1997-2013, sourced from Ofwat (Mega litres per day (Ml/d).

HOME DEPARTMENT

Arrest Warrants

Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many UK citizens have been brought back to the UK from other EU member states under the European Arrest Warrant in each of the last three years for which figures are available;
	(2)  how many citizens of other EU member states have been returned from the UK to their home country under the European Arrest Warrant in each of the last three years.

Mark Harper: holding answer 17 June 2013
	I have been informed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) that the following numbers of UK citizens were returned to the UK(1) under a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) in each of the last three years:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010-11 72 
			 2011-12 76 
			 2012-13 69 
		
	
	The following numbers of EU citizens have been returned to their country of nationality under the EAW in each of the last three years(2):
	
		
			  Number 
			 2010-11 996 
			 2011-12 974 
			 2012-13 957 
		
	
	(1 )This includes data for the whole of the UK.
	(2 )These figures refer only to England, Wales and Northern Ireland; data relating to surrenders from Scotland are not held centrally by SOCA.

Arrest Warrants

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many requests for the surrender of an individual under a European arrest warrant were received by the Serious Organised Crime Agency in 2012-13; and which EU member states issued the request.

Mark Harper: holding answer 1 July 2013
	I have been informed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) that 6,263 Part 1(1) requests for surrender of an individual under a European Arrest Warrant were received in 2012-13. The countries where the requests came from are as follows:
	
		
			 Requesting country Number 
			 2012-13  
			 Austria 111 
			 Belgium 376 
			 Bulgaria 93 
			 Cyprus 25 
			 Czech Republic 182 
			 Denmark 8 
			 Estonia 2 
			 Finland 14 
			 France 422 
			 Germany 672 
			 Greece 78 
			 Hungary 201 
			 Ireland 51 
			 Italy 332 
			 Latvia 115 
			 Lithuania 233 
			 Luxembourg 8 
			 Malta 4 
			 Netherlands 268 
			 Poland 1,664 
			 Portugal 88 
			 Romania 680 
			 Slovakia 99 
			 Slovenia 35 
			 Spain 408 
			 Sweden 94 
			 Total 6,263 
		
	
	(1) These figures relate to EAWs received by the UK. There is not necessarily a UK connection with all of the requests received, as not all EAWs received in the UK correspond to people actually being present in the UK.

Arrest Warrants

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) people and (b) UK nationals were extradited from the UK under a European arrest warrant in 2012-13; and to which EU member states they were extradited.

Mark Harper: holding answer 1 July 2013
	: I have been informed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), that there were 1,057 individuals surrendered from the UK in 2012-13. Of these 43 were identified as British Nationals. The countries which they were surrendered to can be seen in the following table:
	
		
			 Surrenders All surrenders made British nationals 
			 Austria 2 — 
			 Belgium 9 3 
			 Bulgaria 2 — 
			 Cyprus 2 1 
			 Czech Republic 46 2 
			 Denmark — — 
			 Estonia 3 — 
			 Finland 2 — 
			 France 10 6 
			 Germany 20 2 
		
	
	
		
			 Greece 1 — 
			 Hungary 29 — 
			 Ireland 31 5 
			 Italy 12 6 
			 Latvia 58 — 
			 Lithuania 88 — 
			 Luxembourg — — 
			 Malta 5 2 
			 Netherlands 15 3 
			 Poland 627 1 
			 Portugal 5 1 
			 Romania 48 — 
			 Slovakia 20 — 
			 Slovenia 2 1 
			 Spain 13 10 
			 Sweden 7 - 
			 Grand Total 1,057 43

Arrest Warrants

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been extradited to the UK under a European arrest warrant each year since 2004; and how many such extraditions were for offences concerning (a) human trafficking, (b) child sex offences, (c) murder, (d) rape, (e) fraud, (f) grievous bodily harm, (g) robbery, (h) theft, (i) drug smuggling, (j) money laundering and (k) other offences.

Mark Harper: holding answer 8 July 2013
	I have been informed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) that due to the way data was recorded prior to 1 April 2009, it is not possible to provide details of the offences for European arrest warrants (EAW) prior to this period.
	Since 1 April 2009, 507 people have been extradited to the UK from another EU member state under an EAW. A breakdown per offence is as follows:
	
		
			 Offence Total since 2009 
			 Immigration and Human Trafficking 16 
			 Child Sex Offences 63 
			 Murder 44 
			 Rape 27 
			 Fraud 74 
			 Grievous Bodily Harm 34 
			 Robbery 15 
			 Theft 21 
			 Drug Trafficking 105 
			 Money Laundering 11 
			 Other Offences 97 
			 Total 507 
		
	
	(The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) categorise the offences as above. The category “other offences” is used for all crimes that do no fit into any other category).

Arrest Warrants

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been extradited from the UK to another EU member state under a European arrest warrant each year since 2004; and how many such extraditions were for offences concerning (a) human trafficking, (b) child sex offences, (c) murder, (d) rape, (e) fraud, (f) grievous bodily harm, (g) robbery, (h) theft, (i) drugs smuggling, (j) money laundering and (k) other offences.

Mark Harper: holding answer 8 July 2013
	I have been informed by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) that due to the way data was recorded prior to 1 April 2009, it is not possible to provide details of the offences for European arrest warrants (EAW) prior to this period.
	Since 1 April 2009, 4,005 people have been extradited from the UK to another EU member state under an EAW. A breakdown per offence is as follows:
	
		
			 Offence Total since 2009 
			 Immigration and Human Trafficking 87 
			 Child Sex Offences 57 
			 Murder 105 
			 Rape 86 
			 Fraud 667 
			 Grievous Bodily Harm 351 
			 Robbery 505 
			 Theft 869 
			 Drug Trafficking 414 
			 Money Laundering 10 
			 Other Offences 854 
			 Total 4,005

Asylum

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many on-site inspections took place on contractors delivering the Commercial and Operational Managers Procuring Asylum Services project (COMPASS).

Mark Harper: Since the Commercial and Operational Managers Procuring Asylum Services project (COMPASS) contractors were appointed in March 2012, a total of 2,889 on site inspections have been completed.

Asylum: Iran

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many failed asylum applicants have been deported back to Iran year on year in each of the last three years.

Mark Harper: The following table provides the number of asylum cases removed or departing voluntarily from the UK in each year from 2010 to 2012.
	
		
			 Asylum removals and voluntary departures to Iran, 2010 to 2012(1,2,3) 
			  Total asylum enforced removals Total asylum voluntary departures 
			 2010 50 79 
			 2011 53 86 
			 2012(4) 22 58 
			 (1) Destination as recorded on source database; all nationals returned to Iran. (2) Removals are recorded on the system as at the dates on which the data extracts were taken. (3) Recorded on the system as having claimed asylum at some point. (4) Provisional figures. Figures will under record due to data cleansing and data matching exercises that take place after the extracts are taken. 
		
	
	It is not possible within these figures to say at what stage in the asylum process individuals have reached at the time of their removal, including whether their claim has failed at that point, as those departing voluntarily can do so at any stage without necessarily notifying the Home Office.
	Deportations are a specific subset of removals which are enforced either following a criminal conviction or when it is judged that a person's removal from the UK is conducive to the public good. The deportation order prohibits the person returning to the UK until such time as it may be revoked. Most of the foreign national offenders are removed via deportation or the Home Office enforces their departure to ensure they leave the UK.
	The Home Office publishes quarterly and annual statistics on the number of persons removed or departed voluntarily from the UK within the Immigration Statistics release. A copy of the latest release, Immigration Statistics April to June 2013 is available from:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
	and will be placed in the Library of the House.

Bombings: Birmingham

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent progress has been made on bringing to justice the perpetrators of the Birmingham pub bombing in 1974.

James Brokenshire: Decisions in relation to any police investigation, including terrorist incidents, are an independent operational issue and therefore a matter for the west midlands police force.

Correspondence

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will introduce a departmental service level agreement covering responses by Ministers of her Department to correspondence from hon. Members.

Mark Harper: There are no plans to introduce a departmental service level agreement covering responses by Home Office Ministers to correspondence from MPs. The Home Office adheres to Cabinet Office guidance on handling correspondence from MPs that was originally issued to all Government Departments in July 2005. We are continually seeking to improve our responsiveness to correspondence from MPs.

Crime: Wiltshire

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of trends in the level of crime in (a) North Swindon constituency and (b) Wiltshire in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Jeremy Browne: The requested data are provided in the table. Police recorded crime data are not available at constituency level but data for Swindon Community Safety Partnership area have been provided as this covers the same area.
	Over the last two years, Action Fraud have taken over the recording of fraud offences from police forces. Fraud recording in Wiltshire moved to Action Fraud in 2012-13. To allow for consistent comparisons over time, crime totals are shown excluding fraud offences.
	
		
			 Table A: Total police recorded offences in Swindon Community Safety Partnership area and Wiltshire police force, 2008-09 to 2012-13 
			  Swindon CSP Wiltshire Police Force 
			 Financial year Total excluding fraud and forgery offences(1) Fraud and forgery offences Total excluding fraud and forgery offences(1) Fraud and forgery offences 
			 2012-13 13,113 427 33,015 1,091 
			 2011-12 14,233 429 34,963 1,083 
			 2010-11 14,989 441 36,364 1,132 
			 2009-10 15,437 459 37,617 1,054 
			 2008-09 17,370 358 39,996 1,472 
			 Note: Over the last two years, Action Fraud have taken over the recording of fraud offences from police forces. Fraud recording in Wiltshire moved to Action Fraud in 2012-13. To allow for consistent comparisons over time statistics are shown excluding fraud offences.

David Miranda

Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will set out the basis for the detention of Mr David Miranda in transit at Heathrow Airport on 18 August 2013; for what reason his mobile telephone and laptop computer were confiscated; and what representations the Government has received from the Brazilian Government over the detention.

James Brokenshire: The decision to examine and detain Mr Miranda, under schedule 7 to the Terrorism Act 2000, was an operational one taken by the Metropolitan Police Service. On 23 August, the Metropolitan Police Service announced that it had started a criminal investigation. Under the 2000 Act the examining officer may retain any property while he believes that it may be needed for use as evidence in criminal proceedings. The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs spoke to the then Brazilian Foreign Minister Patriota about the detention of Mr Miranda in a telephone call on 19 August. Brazilian and UK officials remain in contact on this issue.

Exclusion Orders

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish a list of the names of all people banned from entering the UK for anti-extremist purposes in each of the last 10 years.

Mark Harper: It is the general policy of the Home Office not to disclose, to a third party, personal information about another person unless there is a substantial public interest in doing so. This is because the Home Office has obligations in law to protect this information.

Immigrants: English Language

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will exempt South Africans who speak English as a first language from the English language element of the Life in the UK test for applicants for indefinite leave to remain on the same basis as applicants from Canada and New Zealand.

Mark Harper: It is important that people settling in the UK can speak English and have an understanding of British history, culture and values. From 28 October, applicants for indefinite leave to remain will be required to obtain an intermediate level English speaking and listening qualification, as well as passing the Life in the UK test.
	Although English is one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, it is not the first language of the majority of the population and South Africans are not therefore exempted from the requirement to obtain a speaking and listening qualification. There are no nationality based exemptions from the Life in the UK test. The Government does not intend to change this position.

Immigration Controls

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to improve the service provided by the Employer Checking Service.

Mark Harper: holding answer 12 July 2013
	The Home Office launched a consultation document on proposals to strengthen and simplify the civil penalty scheme to prevent illegal working on 9 July 2013. The findings of the consultation may inform the future direction of the Employer Checking Service. For the financial year to date, 100% of all requests completed were answered within our five day service standard.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister of State for Immigration, dated 5 July 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Khwima Msiska.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 4 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her, dated 22 July 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr O. T. Atoola.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 27 August 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her, dated 22 July 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Muzammal Iqbal.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 4 September 2013

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her, dated 22 July 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Mr Ifran Gondal.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 3 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her, dated 22 July 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Miss Symone McCarthy.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 4 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her, dated 19 July 2013, from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regards to Ms Yasmin Begum.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 2 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister for Immigration dated 15 July 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs B Aguma.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 4 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 15 July 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Chavon O'Brien Campbell.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 2 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 15 July 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Ms B Jacob.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 3 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to the Minister for Immigration dated 15 July 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr A V Rehman.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 2 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 15 July 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Olajida Olamuyiwa Olasegha.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 3 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 15 July 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mrs Bushra Aslam and Miss Hamsa Fatima.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 28 August 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 15 July 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Miss Oluwakemi Ruth Osikota.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 4 September 2013.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when she intends to reply to the letter to her dated 15 July 2013 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr M Latif.

Mark Harper: I wrote to the right hon. Member on 3 September 2013.

Registrars

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) Superintendent Registrars, (b) Deputy Superintendent Registrars, (c) Registrars and (d) Deputy Registrars in England and Wales are (i) men and (ii) women.

Mark Harper: Registration officers are appointed by local authorities in England and Wales who make returns to the Registrar General of the appointments made. The figures in the table are based on the information held by the Registrar General on 2 September 2013. In many cases, individual registration officers will hold a range of posts.
	
		
			 Post Men Women 
			 Superintendent Registrar 46 191 
			 Deputy Superintendent Registrar 607 3,567 
			 Registrar 95 857 
			 Deputy Registrar 735 4,518

Turkey

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Government plans to ratify the Council of Europe's Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence.

Jeremy Browne: The UK has some of the most robust protections in the world against violence towards women and we already comply with the vast majority of the articles of the Istanbul convention, which we signed on 8 June 2012. We need to ensure that all articles are fully met before ratification and we are currently working within the UK Government and with the devolved Administrations to do this.

UK Border Agency

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers the UK Border Agency has dedicated to organised crime.

Mark Harper: The current staffing number within Immigration Enforcement Criminal Investigation (formerly within the UK Border Agency) is 547. There are also staff within the Home Office that will occasionally provide support in our efforts to disrupt organised crime groups such as operational intelligence and RALON officers working overseas.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Working Parents

Gregg McClymont: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what steps she is taking to support working parents.

Jeremy Browne: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	The Government is taking action to support working parents in a number of areas including through a new system of shared parental leave, giving parents much greater flexibility over how they use their entitlement.
	We are also helping parents with the cost of child care and increasing provision of free child care for the less well off.

Mothers

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities What assessment she has made of the cumulative effect of Government policies on new mothers since May 2010.

Jo Swinson: The Government is taking action to support new mothers in a number of areas including introducing a system of shared parental leave which will allow parents to choose how best to share caring responsibilities, and extending the right to request flexible working. These policies will empower women and give them more choice—something the previous Government talked about a great deal but singularly failed to deliver.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Digital Technology

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what funding her Department is making available for digital inclusion (a) directly and (b) through partner bodies.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS does not fund any digital inclusion programmes directly. However, BDUK is working to ensure the widest possible availability of superfast broadband and that the whole country will have access to a minimum level of broadband service. The availability of this infrastructure will support the delivery of digital inclusion programmes.

Paralympic Games 2012

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the London 2012 Paralympics legacy.

Hugh Robertson: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues at the Department for Work and Pensions on a range of issues. The Olympic and Paralympic Legacy Committee (OPLC), the relevant Cabinet committee, has regular discussions about the Paralympic legacy. Both the Minister for Disabled People and I are members of that committee. The Minister for Disabled People co-chairs (with the Deputy Mayor of London) the Paralympic Legacy Advisory Group which has been established to advise Government and the Mayor of London on Paralympic legacy. The Group's membership comprises representatives from disabled people's user-led organisations, leading disability charities, Paralympians, broadcasters and business. The Minister for Disabled People reports regularly to the OPLC on the work of the PLAG.

Television: Licensing

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate she has made of the number of (a) hotel and (b) bed and breakfast owners that have not paid the correct amount for their television licence in each of the last five years in (i) Paisley and Renfrewshire North constituency, (ii) Renfrewshire, (iii) Scotland and (iv) the UK.

Edward Vaizey: TV Licensing holds no estimates concerning the number of hotel and bed and breakfast owners that have not paid the correct amount for their TV licences. Licensing requirements are confirmed each year with hotels and bed and breakfast establishments, and regular information campaigns are run to publicise licensing requirements in the hospitality sector.

Television: Licensing

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will bring forward legislative proposals for the election of BBC trustees and the decriminalisation of television licence fee non-payment.

Edward Vaizey: I have no plans to bring forward legislative proposals for the election of BBC trustees and the decriminalisation of television licence fee non-payment.

UK City of Culture

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport When she expects the decision to be made on the UK's City of Culture in 2017.

Edward Vaizey: We expect to announce which city has been selected as UK City of Culture 2017 by the end of this year.

World War I: Anniversaries

Stephen Metcalfe: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport What steps she is taking to ensure a suitable commemoration of the First World War.

Edward Vaizey: The Government will deliver a four year programme to mark the centenary focused around the themes of remembrance, youth and education. We will lead the nation in appropriate acts of remembrance and support learning, community and cultural projects through a package of over £50 million funded activity.
	In Essex, a £65,000 grant has been awarded to a project that will create a touring exhibition, which will reflect the stories from the Essex home front during the First World War. In addition, we will be commemorating Victoria Cross recipients with specially commissioned paving stones, which will be laid in the home towns of all those awarded the Victoria Cross. Essex, as home to Victoria Cross recipients, will be able to commemorate their fallen with a permanent memorial and legacy for the community.

World War I: Anniversaries

Karl McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport What steps she is taking to ensure a suitable commemoration of the First World War.

Hugh Robertson: The Government will deliver a four year programme to mark the centenary focused around the themes of remembrance, youth and education. We will lead the nation in appropriate acts of remembrance and support learning, community and cultural projects through a package of over £50 million funded activity.
	On a local level, Lincolnshire County Council has been awarded a grant of £74,800, which will enable people to explore and research the stories behind the names commemorated on their local war memorials and the effects of the conflict on local communities. In addition, we will be commemorating Victoria Cross recipients with specially commissioned paving stones, which will be laid in the home towns of all those awarded the Victoria Cross. Lincolnshire, as home to Victoria Cross recipients, will be able to commemorate their fallen with a permanent memorial and legacy for the community.

JUSTICE

Community Orders

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions an individual has successfully appealed an uncompleted community order suspended in each of the last two years.

Jeremy Wright: Data relating to the outcome of appeals against community orders are not currently published by the Ministry of Justice. The creation, development and quality assurance of further breakdowns of appeals data could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Published information relating to the number of appeals (against decisions of magistrates courts) dealt with in the Crown court, by appeal type and result, England and Wales, can be found in Table 3.25 at the link below:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/207806/court-stats-ql-main-tables.xls

Electronic Tagging

Caroline Flint: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether firms involved in over-charging for electronic tagging services will still be excluded from bidding for further departmental contracts.

Jeremy Wright: In his statement to the House on this subject on 11 July, the Secretary of State announced an audit of every contract that the Ministry of Justice holds with the companies in question—namely, G4S and Serco. The Department will not be awarding any new contracts to the two companies unless the outcome of this process is satisfactory.

Freedom of Information

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average cost to Government Departments of responding to each Freedom of Information Act request.

Helen Grant: Research published by the Ministry of Justice in 2012 as part of the post-legislative scrutiny of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 found that the average cost of an FOI request to Government Departments was estimated to be £184. Further information is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/investigative-study-to-inform-the-freedom-of-information-act-post-legislative-review--2

Legal Aid Scheme

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of people that have successfully applied for legal aid since the introduction of the Legal Aid Online Information Service;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effect on traditional methods of applying for legal aid of the introduction of the Legal Aid Online Information Service;
	(3)  how many complaints his Department has received relating to the Legal Aid Online Information Service since its inception.

Jeremy Wright: Comprehensive information on applications made since 1 April 2013 when legal aid changes came into effect will not be available until the end of the financial year and information on the number of acts of assistance will normally be published by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) in their Annual Report and Statistical Information Pack.
	The Online Information Service helps members of the public to check whether they might be eligible to receive legal aid and if so, find an appropriate legal aid provider. For those who are not eligible for legal aid, the service provides people with information on, and access to, alternative sources of help and assistance, to help them resolve their problems.
	The online service is not the only route for checking eligibility to legal aid and members of the public cannot use the service to make a legal aid application. Depending on the area of law, they can apply through the Civil Legal Advice (CLA) advice line or a face to face provider.
	Methods for applying for legal aid continue to be available through traditional methods and members of the public can use the CLA advice line (telephone and email,) post or a face to face provider, depending on the area of law.
	From the date the online tool was launched on 1 April 2013, we have received eight comments from users about either incorrect solicitor/mediator listings or technical problems, but no formal complaints.

Legal Aid Scheme

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  where the providers awarded contracts under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 to provide face-to-face legal aid services in the South West from April 2013 are based;
	(2)  which providers awarded contracts by the Legal Services Commission to supply face-to-face legal aid services from April 2013 under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 have not yet opened a permanent office in the procurement area;
	(3)  what steps his Department will take to ensure that each organisation awarded a contract to provide face-to-face legal aid services maintains a permanent presence in the procurement area.

Jeremy Wright: The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) splits England and Wales into Procurement Areas and, where necessary, Access Points, in order to ensure services are available locally. There are different Procurement Areas and Access Points for the different categories of law. The tender for face-to-face legal aid services from April 2013 covered the categories of Immigration and Asylum, Housing and Debt, and Family.
	As a result of the tender there is at least one provider office in each Procurement Area or Access Point in the South West in each category of law except for Housing and Debt in Dorset, which the LAA is currently working to resolve and in the interim clients can access advice over the phone and face-to-face services are available in neighbouring areas. A summary of offices per Procurement Area and Access Point in the south-west can be found in the Annex. The full list of providers can be found on the Justice website.
	It was a requirement of the tender for face-to-face legal aid services from April 2013 that all providers had an office with a permanent presence in the Procurement Area(s) or Access Point(s) in which they bid by the Contract Start Date (1 April 2013). The LAA confirmed that each organisation successful in the tender met this requirement prior to the issue of contract documentation.
	The LAA visits providers throughout the life of a contract to ensure the terms of the contract are being met. Following the tender process, visits have been prioritised to organisations that opened new offices to ensure they meet the LAA's definition of permanent presence. Should an organisation's office be found not to be a permanent presence, the LAA will terminate their contract for that office and, if necessary to maintain access in the Procurement Area or Access Point, take action such as authorising providers in other areas to undertake outreach, undertaking an expressions of interest exercise for the work or running interim tender activity.
	Annex—Summary of provider offices in the South West
	
		
			 Offices providing Family legal aid services in the South West 
			 Procurement Area Number of offices Access Point Number of offices 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 19 n/a 19 
			     
			 City of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset 33 City of Bristol 21 
			   South Gloucestershire and North Somerset 12 
			     
			 City of Plymouth 10 n/a 10 
			     
			 Cornwall 21 Central Cornwall 9 
			   North and East Cornwall 6 
			   West Cornwall 6 
			     
			 Devon 46 East, Mid, North and West Devon, Torridge 19 
			   Exeter 16 
			   South Hams, Teignbridge, Torbay 11 
			     
			 Dorset 15 East Dorset 4 
			   West Dorset 11 
			     
			 Gloucestershire 18 East Gloucestershire 4 
			   West Gloucestershire 14 
			     
			 Somerset 24 BANES and Mendip 7 
			   Sedgemoor, South Somerset, Taunton Dean and West Somerset 17 
			     
			 Wiltshire 17 Rest of Wiltshire 10 
			   Swindon 7 
			 Total 203 — 203 
		
	
	
		
			 Offices providing Immigration and Asylum legal aid services in the South West 
			 Procurement Area Access Point Number of offices 
			 South West England City of Bristol, Gloucestershire and North Somerset 9 
			 South West England City of Plymouth and Devon 2 
			 Total — 11 
		
	
	
		
			 Offices providing Housing and Debt legal aid services in the South West 
			 Procurement Area Number of offices 
			 Bournemouth and Poole 2 
			 City of Bristol, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset 7 
			 City of Plymouth 1 
			 Cornwall 3 
			 Devon 5 
			 Dorset 0 
			 Gloucestershire 2 
			 Somerset 2 
			 Wiltshire 5 
			 Total 27

Mental Health Review Tribunal

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mental health tribunal cases were listed for hearings in (a) 2008, (b) 2009, (c) 2010, (d) 2011, (e) 2012 and (f) 2013.

Helen Grant: HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) administers First-tier Tribunal Mental Health (FtT MH) cases in England. It is not possible to provide information on the number of cases listed for hearing in 2008, and 2009, as HMCTS only began to record the number of mental health tribunal cases listed for hearing from April 2010.
	The data shown in the following table are taken from internal management information and record the number of cases listed for hearing from April 2010. The increase shown is in line with a rise in the number of people detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 over the same period.
	
		
			 Hearings listed 
			  Number of hearings 
			 2010-11 28,698 
			 2011-12 31,215 
			 2012-13 32,055

Mental Health Review Tribunal

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had about the listing of mental health tribunal cases.

Helen Grant: The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, my right hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Chris Grayling), has not had any recent discussions about the listing of mental health tribunal cases, and neither have I as the Minister responsible for tribunal policy.

Offences Against the Person Act 1861

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions were made under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 where a dog was used as a weapon in each of the last five years.

Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice Court Proceedings Database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. This database holds information on offences provided by the statutes under which proceedings are brought but not the specific circumstances of each case. It is not possible to identify from this centrally held information whether a dog was used as a weapon under Offences Against the Person Act 1861.

Parole

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2013, Official Report, column 220W 
	(1)  on parole, how many people (a) were eligible to opt into and (b) did opt into the Probation Victim Contract Scheme in each of the last three years;
	(2)  on parole, what steps his Department takes to encourage eligible people to opt into the Probation Victim Contract Scheme;
	(3)  on prisoners' release, what steps he takes to inform victims of the scheme;
	(4)  on prisoners' release, how many people are eligible for the scheme; and how many people have contracted in to date.

Jeremy Wright: Contact under the statutory probation victim contact scheme (VCS) is for victims of offenders who receive a sentence of imprisonment of 12 months or more or a hospital order for a violent or sexual offence. It provides victims with the opportunity to make representations about the offender's licence conditions on release, and also to receive information about key stages of the offender's sentence, such as if they are transferred to an open prison.
	Eligible victims will be referred to probation trusts by joint police and Crown Prosecution Service witness care units after sentence, unless the victim does not want this. Probation trusts are required to contact eligible victims within eight weeks of sentence to offer access to the scheme. Victims who do not wish to opt in immediately are made aware that they can do so at any time during the offender's sentence.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has produced a leaflet on the VCS for witness care units to provide to eligible victims. NOMS has also worked with the CPS to update guidance to witness care units and remind their staff of the importance of identifying eligible victims and informing them about the VCS. Fresh guidance on the operation of the VCS is currently being produced and will be published in the autumn. Training opportunities for probation staff will also be increased.
	Additionally, later this year the Government will publish a revised Victims' Code. This will clearly set out the support to which each victim is entitled throughout their involvement in the criminal justice system and where to go if they are not receiving this help. It will include information about the VCS, including how to opt in, and what information victims should receive about an offender's sentence. The Victims' Code aims to make victims the priority of the system, hold all those in the criminal justice system to account, and give victims a clearer means of redress if they are not given the support they need and deserve.
	The Victims' Commissioner, Baroness Newlove, has also recently produced a report and recommendations on the VCS. The Government is considering these recommendations and will respond shortly.
	It is important that NOMS ensures victims who are eligible are provided with all the information to help them make an informed choice. However, it would not be appropriate to encourage victims, who have suffered so much, to opt in, as it must be their choice. Some victims, understandably, do not wish to be provided with information about the offender.
	Figures about the number of victims who are eligible to receive contact under the VCS or have opted in to it are held locally by individual probation trusts and to collect them would incur disproportionate costs.

Paul Flint

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  for what reasons Paul Flint was transferred to Ford Open Prison;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the efficacy of risk assessments carried out on prisoners before their transfer to Ford Prison;
	(3)  how many prisoners absconded from Ford Prison in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013 to date.

Jeremy Wright: Mr Flint is an indeterminate sentence prisoner (ISP). The decision to transfer ISPs to open conditions is a categorisation decision which is a matter for the Secretary of State, taken by officials under agreed delegated authority from him. The Secretary of State may take this decision after seeking advice from the Parole Board or executively where a prisoner has demonstrated exceptional progress.
	In Mr Flint's case, the Parole Board was satisfied that his risk of serious harm to others was not so high as to require his confinement in a closed prison establishment for the protection of the public and that a period in less secure conditions would provide a staged progression back into the community. Thus, the Parole Board recommended that Mr Flint be transferred to open conditions, and the Secretary of State accepted that recommendation.
	Determinate sentenced prisoners are categorised and allocated to HMP Ford following an established risk assessment process. Prisoners may be assessed as suitable for open conditions if they present a low risk of harm to the public, are considered to be trustworthy not to abscond from low security conditions and, for those serving a lengthy prison sentence, are in general within two years of their earliest release date. Prisoners who do not meet these criteria are not moved to open conditions. Those who are later considered to have increased risk whilst in open conditions are moved back to closed conditions. For the majority of prisoners transferred to HMP Ford, this risk assessment process works well. In 2012-13, abscond levels from HMP Ford were the lowest ever recorded.
	The number of absconds from HMP Ford is published annually by financial year on the gov.uk website. Details of the number of absconds from 1995/96 to 2012/13 (the most recent period for which data are available) can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls

Prison Sentences

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of pre-sentence reports have recommended immediate custody for (a) men and (b) women in Crown courts in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Wright: The information requested is provided in the following table:
	
		
			 Proportion of pre-sentence reports in the Crown court proposing immediate custodial sentences, by sex, England and Wales, 2010-12 
			 Percentage 
			  2010 2011 2012 
			 Males 22 23 24 
			 Females 9 10 11 
			 Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Roads: Accidents

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of trends in stress and anxiety caused by accidents as the basis of motor insurance claims; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The Ministry of Justice has received data from the Department for Work and Pensions on the number of registered motor liability claims since 2009 arising from post traumatic stress disorder or psychological trauma. The following table shows that there has been a 22% increase in this type of claim since 2009-10, which is broadly similar to the increase in the overall number of motor accident claims over the same period (21%). The number of these claims which also included a claim for “whiplash” has risen by 1% over this period, with the total rising by 15%.
	
		
			  Overall number of motor liability claims Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or psychological trauma claims PTSD/psychological trauma claims where “whiplash” is included in the description Total 
			 2009-10 674,997 2,745 1,457 4,202 
			 2010-11 790,999 2,715 1,383 4,098 
			 2011-12 828,489 3,091 1,560 4,651 
			 2012-13 818,334 3,341 1,473 4,814 
			 Increase (%) 21 22 1 15 
		
	
	The Government is committed to reducing the high cost of motor insurance, and has completed a consultation on measures to address the rising number and costs of whiplash claims. The Government response to the consultation will be published later this year.

Sexual Offences

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what research his Department has undertaken into any link between being a victim of sexual abuse and subsequent criminal convictions; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: The Government takes the needs of victims of sexual abuse seriously. We have established the Sexual Violence against Children and Vulnerable People National Group (SVACV), led by the Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Ashford (Damian Green) Damian Green, to co-ordinate and implement the learning from recent inquiries into historic sexual abuse and current sexual violence prevention issues.
	The Department has not undertaken research specifically on the links between being a victim of sexual abuse and subsequent criminal convictions. However, the MOJ Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction (SPCR) study found that one year reoffending levels were higher for prisoners who had experienced sexual, physical or emotional abuse as a child compared to those who had not (58% compared with 50%). These findings are not necessarily indicative of a causal link between being a victim of sexual, physical or emotional abuse during childhood and subsequent criminal convictions.
	The full paper on prisoners' childhood and family backgrounds is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/217401/prisoners-childhood-family-backgrounds.pdf

Suicide

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the chief coroner in relation to changing the burden of proof in cases of suicide from criminal to civil; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Grant: With my Department of Health colleague, the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb), I recently met the chief coroner to discuss the suicide standard of proof. The Government is considering how best to proceed on this issue.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Buckingham Palace: Temporary Employment

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether he has discussed with the Royal Household its policy on temporary staff contracts at Buckingham Palace.

Jo Swinson: Neither Ministers nor officials at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills have had any discussions with the Royal Household on this matter.

Chemical Weapons: Syria

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will investigate whether chemicals exported from the UK to Syria under the standard individual export licences for chemicals used in industrial/commercial purposes issued on 17 and 18 January 2012 have been used in chemical weapons in Syria.

Michael Fallon: The Government operates one of the most rigorous arms export control regimes in the world, and has been at the forefront of implementing an international sanctions regime on Syria. All export licence applications are considered by the Government on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria. We will not grant a licence if the export would contravene any of our international legal obligations, including our obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
	Since the conflict in Syria began, the Government has issued only two licences for chemicals to Syria, for sodium fluoride and potassium fluoride, in January 2012. The exporter and recipient company demonstrated that the chemicals were for a legitimate civilian end use—which was for metal finishing of aluminium profiles used in making aluminium showers and aluminium window frames.
	The licences were revoked following a revision to the sanctions regime which came into force on 17 June 2012. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) records show that no goods were exported to Syria under these licences before they were revoked.

Companies: Disclosure of Information

Gordon Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure that companies provide terms and conditions in a font size which is clear and legible for people to read.

Jo Swinson: Government has no plans to bring forward legislative proposals on this issue. Many businesses already provide information in accessible formats, and where an individual considers the information provided is not clear and legible, they should request this in an appropriate format from the company.

Conditions of Employment

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether his Department has conducted any research into the number of people on zero-hours contracts separately from that carried out by the Office for National Statistics; and if he will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: As there is no single legal definition of zero hour contracts it is possible that a worker's view of whether they are on a zero hour contract will differ from a business' view. Also different businesses may take a different view of whether they are offering zero hours contracts.
	The Department for Business has not conducted additional research into the number of people on zero hour contracts, separately from that carried out by the Office of National Statistics. However, as part of the information gathering exercise, we will be considering the research and other information which the Office for National Statistics and other organisations have published on contracts that could fall into the description of a zero hours contracts.

Conditions of Employment

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on what date his Department's investigation into zero hours contracts began its work.

Jo Swinson: The review began on 3 June of this year.

Further Education: Capital Investment

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills whether the further education capital fund will be restricted to use by further education colleges when that fund is transferred to control by local enterprise partnerships from 2015-16.

Matthew Hancock: The spending round announced that £330 million of Skills capital funding would be placed into the Single Local Growth Fund in 2015-16 to be allocated to LEPs in support of their Strategic Economic Plans. There will be no restriction to use by further education colleges of the funding announced for further education capital as part of the Local Growth Fund. The funding is restricted for use on capital investment.

Higher Education: Student Numbers

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many students were studying a (a) two year, (b) three year and (c) four year undergraduate degree course at a UK university in each of the last 10 years.

David Willetts: The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on students at UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). The number of full-time first degree enrolments from all domiciles by expected course length and academic year is shown in the table.
	Information for the 2012/13 academic year will become available from the Higher Education Statistics Agency in January 2014.
	
		
			 Enrolments(1) on full-time first degree courses by expected length of course(2): UK higher education institutions: Academic year 2002/03 to 2011/12 
			 Academic year Two years(3) Three years(4) Four years(5) Othert(6) Total 
			 2002/03 7,820 601,140 293,320 78,530 980,805 
			 2003/04 7,755 639,100 294,290 72,780 1,013,925 
			 2004/05 7,120 661,715 301,795 68,505 1,039,130 
			 2005/06 5,700 684,730 310,035 73,305 1,073,775 
			 2006/07 6,005 690,955 311,390 77,730 1,086,080 
			 2007/08 5,725 709,375 313,415 80,165 1,108,685 
			 2008/09 6,295 730,205 329,210 80,845 1,146,550 
			 2009/10 6,975 783,175 337,025 81,450 1,208,625 
			 2010/11 7,055 811,240 347,875 84,085 1,250,255 
			 2011/12 7,315 856,345 361,405 87,055 1,312,115 
			 (1) Enrolments cover total students in all years of study. (2) Calculated as the time between expected end date and commencement date of instance, further details of how this is defined provided at the link: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/component/option.com_studrec/task,show_file/ltemid.233/mni,11051/href,a_%5E_%5ESPLENGTH.html (3) Course with expected length greater than one year but less than or equal to two years. (4) Course with expected length greater than two years but less than or equal to three years. (5) Course with expected length greater than three years but less than or equal to four years (6) Includes short courses with expected length of one year or less, longer courses of over four years and courses of unknown length. Note: Figures are derived using the HESA standard registration population.

Legal Profession: Payments

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will give consideration to bringing forward proposals to amend the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2013 to include payments to barristers.

Michael Fallon: The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 applies to all commercial contracts including those entered into by barristers.
	The (New) Standard Contractual Terms for the Supply of Legal Services by Barristers to Authorised Persons 2012 which are set out in Annexe T to the Bar Code of Conduct explicitly state that barristers are entitled to the fixed sum and interest in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 if an invoice remains outstanding more than 30 days from the date of delivery.

Minimum Wage

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to keep the minimum wage in line with inflation.

Jo Swinson: Our aim is to have a minimum wage that is as high as possible without damaging the employment prospects of low paid workers.
	Minimum wage rates are considered on an annual basis by the independent Low Pay Commission, which then makes recommendations on any changes to Government for consideration.
	From October, the adult minimum wage is estimated to be around 27% higher in real terms (compared to CPI) and around 15% higher in real terms (compared to RPI) from its introduction in 1999.
	In addition to the minimum wage, the Government is helping all working people on low pay by maximising their take-home pay. That is why we are cutting income tax for the low paid and have taken 2.4 million people out of income tax altogether since 2010.
	This means under the new minimum wage rate, from October, an adult on the minimum wage working 28 hours a week will not pay income tax—and someone working 35 hours per week on the minimum wage will see their income tax bill cut by more than half since 2010.

Post Offices: Northern Ireland

Ian Paisley Jnr: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if she will commission a review of rural post offices in Northern Ireland.

Jo Swinson: No. The Government is fully committed to modernising the post office network, maintaining at least 11,500 branches across the UK and to safeguarding the network's future, with no programme of closures. In 2010 we committed to investing £1.34 billion over five years to 2015 to modernise and sustain the network while maintaining compliance with the access criteria which ensure reasonable access to post office services in both urban and rural areas.
	New sub post office operating models, benefitting from Government investment, are now open in 15 out of the 18 parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland, including four in the hon. Member's own constituency.

Postgraduate Education

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what steps he is taking to improve access to postgraduate funding.

David Willetts: Government continues to provide funding to support postgraduate study of around £710 million per annum through Research Councils for postgraduate research students and through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) towards the costs of postgraduate taught courses and supervision.
	In addition, Government has created a new £75 million Postgraduate Support Fund that will be available in 2014/15 and 2015/16 to understand and address the barriers to entry into postgraduate education.
	BIS and HEFCE jointly announced in July 2013, £25 million in 2014/15 for a Postgraduate Support Scheme (PSS) to pilot collaborative projects between Higher Education Institutions, industry and non-academic organisations to test different ways of financing postgraduate study, attracting students from less advantaged backgrounds, and in areas that support the Government's ambitions for economic growth.
	After considering the findings from the PSS, Government will then reinvest £50 million in 2015/16, from the National Scholarship Programme, to support disadvantaged students' access postgraduate education.

Regional Growth Fund

Chuka Umunna: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many winning bidders under (a) round one and (b) round two of the Regional Growth Funds have not yet received a final agreed offer; and what the monetary value of each bid is.

Michael Fallon: There is one bidder from Round 2 with whom we are yet to agree a final position. This award is linked to wider investment decisions by the beneficiary which are not expected before the autumn. Due to commercial sensitivity, details of this bid cannot be disclosed until negotiations have been completed.

Sign Language: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what effect the 2013 Spending Round will have on his Department's funding of British Sign Language qualifications.

Matthew Hancock: The Adult Skills Budget (ASB) is used to fund all adult skills provision including British Sign Language (BSL) qualifications for eligible adults. Colleges and providers of BSL qualifications have the freedoms and flexibilities to use the ASB as best fits the needs of their local learners and businesses, including BSL qualifications where there is a local need for these.

Sign Language: Education

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will protect his Department's funding of British Sign Language qualifications throughout the time period covered by the 2013 Spending Round.

Matthew Hancock: In line with all other adult qualifications funding for BSL qualifications is available via the Adult Skills Budget (ASB). The freedoms and flexibilities introduced with this single budget give colleges and providers the independence to use the ASB as best fits the needs of their local learners and businesses.

Vocational Training

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with Ministers and officials at the Department for Work and Pensions on the effect of that Department's 16 hour rule on his Department's traineeships scheme for people claiming jobseeker's allowance;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the potential effect the Department for Work and Pension's 16 hour rule on benefit eligibility will have for the take-up of traineeships by 18 to 24 year olds claiming jobseeker's allowance;
	(3)  what instructions he has given to the Skills Funding Agency on clarification of the current restrictions on access to jobseeker's allowance for 18 to 24 year olds enrolled in his Department's traineeships scheme;
	(4)  what representations he has received from training providers about potential ineligibility for financial support for 18 to 24 year olds enrolled in his Department's traineeships scheme.

Matthew Hancock: I regularly meet with the Minister for Employment, Department for Work and Pensions, my hon. Friend the Member for Fareham (Mr Hoban), to discuss the interaction with the skills and benefits systems, and my officials work closely with officials in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on the development and implementation of programmes such as traineeships. We indicated in our initial discussion paper (January 2013) our intention for traineeships to fit with the benefits system. Following this consultation we have designed traineeships to have the flexibility to enable providers to meet the requirements of young people who are claiming benefits. This enables training providers to design traineeships so that young people can continue to receive jobseeker's allowance (JSA) or the new universal credit while taking part in a traineeship, supporting young people to access traineeships.
	The benefit rules (including the 16-hour rule) for JSA claimants apply to all provision funded by the Skills Funding Agency, including traineeships. FE providers have experience of designing programmes to fit within these rules. We will be undertaking an evaluation of traineeships during its first year of delivery and will be monitoring the take-up of the programme.
	Local JCP have discretion to award training allowances where appropriate to those who would otherwise be eligible to claim JSA.
	Young people taking part in traineeships will be undertaking education and training and, where they qualify, will be able to access existing programmes of financial support, including the £180 million Bursary Fund for 16 to 18-year-olds, and Discretionary Learning Support funding for those aged 19 up to 24. This is in addition to being able to claim JSA where applicable.
	The Skills Funding Agency's funding rules reflect the principles set out in the Government's Framework for Delivery of traineeships, giving providers the flexibility to design traineeships to meet the needs of employers and young people, including those on JSA.

TREASURY

EU Staff: Taxation

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether UK civil servants working for EU institutions pay income tax at the same level as other UK citizens.

David Lidington: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	As indicated in my previous answers of 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 293W, secondees from member state Governments to the EU Institutions pay tax on their salary as per domestic arrangements. British civil servants seconded to the EU will therefore pay tax on their salary at the same level of other British citizens. Some secondees will be paid living allowances which fall under the EU Institutions' tax arrangements.

EU Staff: Taxation

David Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether members of the European Parliament representing constituencies in the UK pay income tax at the same level as other UK citizens.

David Lidington: I have been asked to reply 
	on behalf of the Home Department.
	As indicated in my previous answer on 2 September 2013, Official Report, column 293W, UK tax rules and rates apply to any salary, allowances and pension received as a UK Member of the European Parliament (MEP). Since 2009, the salary of most MEPs has also been subject to an EU level community tax, which UK MEPs are entitled to offset against their overall UK tax liability.

Financial Institutions

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that (a) credit card companies and (b) other financial organisations comply with the rulings and requests of (i) the Financial Ombudsman, (ii) the Office of Fair Trading and (iii) other regulatory bodies when they are representing consumers' complaints.

Sajid Javid: Independent regulators such as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have statutory powers to ensure compliance with their rules and requirements. In addition, an ombudsman’s direction is enforceable by an injunction in the county or High Court.
	The Government has recently undertaken a fundamental reform of the regulatory system for financial services through the Financial Services Act 2012 (“the Act”), which has included the creation of the FAC with stronger powers to protect consumers and a wider range of tools and greater resources to tackle detrimental practices. The Government has also taken powers through the Act to transfer responsibility for regulating consumer credit from the OFT to the FCA in order to bring the regulation of all retail financial services under one roof.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Nick de Bois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid to the Exchequer at each prevailing rate of stamp duty from residential sales in each year since 1992; and what proportion of total Government revenue this figure represented in each such year.

David Gauke: The revenue collected from stamp duty land tax(1) (SDLT) on residential property transactions is available for each financial year up to and including 2011-12. The breakdown of this revenue by stamp duty consideration band and as a proportion of total government revenue can be found in the following tables.
	Estimates of SDLT yield from residential property for 2012-13 are due to be published on 27 September 2013.
	(1 )SDLT replaced stamp duty on land transactions on 15 December 2003.
	
		
			 Stamp duty land tax—Yield attributable to residential land and property by stamp duty land tax consideration band and as a proportion of public sector total current receipts. 1992-93 to 2011-12 
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  Above £30,000   
			  1% All bands  
			  No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 1992-93 280 0.12 280 0.12 227,559 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  Above £60,000   
			  1% All bands  
			  No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 1993-94 465 0.20 465 0.20 235,228 
			 1994-95 520 0.20 520 0.20 255,901 
			 1995-96 465 0.17 465 0.17 276,613 
			 1996-97 675 0.23 675 0.23 288,730 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  £60,001-£250,000 £250,001-£500,000 Above £500,000   
			  1% 1.5% 2% All bands  
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 1997-98 595 0.19 130 0.04 105 0.03 830 0.26 317,093 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  £60,001-£250,000 £250,001-£500,000 Above £500,000   
			  1% 2% 3% All bands  
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 1998-99 650 0.9 215 0.06 195 0.06 1,065 0.32 336,444 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  £60,001-£250,000 £250,001-£500,000 Above £500,000   
			  1% 2.5% 3.5% All bands  
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 1999-2000 925 0.26 490 0.14 410 0.11 1,825 0.51 359,773 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  £60,001-£250,000 £250,001-£500,000 Above £500,000   
			  1% 3% 4% All bands  
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 2000-01 905 0.24 690 0.18 550 0.14 2,145 0.56 383,008 
			 2001-02 1,040 0.27 945 0.24 700 0.18 2,690 0.69 389,953 
			 2002-03 1,345 0.34 1,320 0.33 860 0.22 3,525 0.89 396,127 
			 2003-04 1,305 0.31 1,365 0.32 1,035 0.24 3,710 0.88 423,350 
			 2004-05 1,400 0.31 1,770 0.39 1,450 0.32 4,620 1.02 453,240 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  £120,001-£250,000 £250,001-£500,000 Above £500,000   
			  1% 3% 4% All bands  
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 2005-06 1,175 0.24 1,910 0.39 1,500 0.31 4,585 0.94 487,805 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  £125,001-£250,000 £250,001-£500,000 Above £500,000   
			  1% 3% 4% All bands  
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 2006-07 1,455 0.28 2,660 0.51 2,260 0.44 6,375 1.23 518,946 
			 2007-08 1,280 0.23 2,740 0.50 2,660 0.48 6,680 1.22 549,174 
			 2008-09 505 0.09 1,155 0.22 1,290 0.24 2,950 0.55 535,358 
			 2009-10 450 0.09 1,365 0.26 1,470 0.29 3,290 0.64 515,359 
			 2010-11 540 0.10 1,575 0.28 1,930 0.35 4,040 0.73 554,735 
		
	
	
		
			 Amount (£ million) 
			  Stamp duty consideration band and duty rate  
			  £125,001-£250,000 £250,001-£500,000 £500,001-£1,000,000 Above £1,000,000    
			  1% 3% 4% 5% All bands  
			  No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % Public sector total current receipts 
			 2011-12 545 0.09 1,560 0.27 1,005 0.17 1,110 0.19 4,220 0.73 576,082 
			 Notes: 1. Figures may not sum due to rounding 2. The estimates up to 2003-04 were derived using information from the Survey of Property Transactions. 3.The estimates for 2004-05 to 2011-12 were derived using the Stamp Duty Land Tax database.